Matthew Perry Removing Keanu Reeves References From Memoir After Backlash

Matthew Perry has attempted to censor certain parts of his memoir to protect it from further backlash. Perry told the audience at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books that he would remove references to Keanu Reeves from future editions of his memoir Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing. “I said a stupid thing. It was a mean thing to do,” Perry admitted at the festival, according to the Los Angeles Times. “I pulled his name because I live on the same street. I’ve apologized publicly to him. Any future versions of the book will not have his name in it… If I run into the guy, I’ll apologize. It was just stupid.” Perry criticizes the beloved actor in the current version by comparing him to deceased 90s stars. 

“River [Phoenix] was a beautiful man inside and out – too beautiful for this world, it turned out. It always seems to be the really talented guys who go down. Why is it that the original thinkers like River Phoenix and Heath Ledger die, but Keanu Reeves still walks among us?” Further, he would refer to Reeves once again when comedian Chris Farley passed away, “I punched a hole through Jennifer Aniston’s dressing room wall when I found out [about Farley’s death],” he wrote before adding Reeves back to the mix. “Keanu Reeves walks among us.” Perry did not insult Reeves alone in his memoir, but he was the one that dealt the most backlash to the Friends alum. There was swift condemnation, which Perry responded to with a semi-explanation and an apology that was quick to follow. “I’m actually a big fan of Keanu. I just chose a random name, my mistake. I apologize. I should have used my own name instead.”

Reeves has received much positive attention from fans on social media, especially in the past few years, resulting in many readers becoming angry over the negative remarks. Reeves has not publicly addressed the original quotes in the memoir. However, according to Us Weekly, Keanu Reeves was allegedly just as taken aback by Matthew Perry’s comments about him in his as the rest of the public. The John Wick star’s reported reaction to the comments raised many questions about what led to this situation. “Keanu thought the comments came out of left field,” a source told the outlet. “It’s kind of backfired on Matthew anyway, which is why he had to apologize.”