'He could be manipulative': Matthew Perry's pal claims late 'Friends' star was 'never clean' and lied about sobriety

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: 'Friends' star Matthew Perry, who died in October at the age of 54 due to a ketamine overdose, was revealed to have been 'never' clean, contrary to his claims in his best-selling 2022 memoir 'Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing'.

In the memoir, Perry stated that he had conquered his addictions with the assistance of a sober coach and his closest friend.

However, an unnamed close friend of the late star contradicted these assertions, stating, "He lied to everyone about being clean. He never was. It is very sad. You know, the biggest lie he told was probably to himself," reported Daily Mail.

Perry was found unresponsive inside a hot tub at his home on October 28.

Source claims Matthew Perry was 'quite manipulative' 

Recently, it was reportedly found out that Perry died because of “acute effects of ketamine” despite his earlier claims that he was sober.

Now, Perry’s friend told the publication, “'He could be quite a manipulative person when it came to his struggles with using, but it was such a struggle, such a battle, and he battled every day to the end."

Matthew Perry died of 'acute effects of ketamine'

On Friday, December 15, the Los Angeles coroner's office released Perry's autopsy report, stating, “The County of Los Angeles Department of Medical Examiner determined the cause of death for 54-year-old actor Matthew Langford Perry as the acute effects of ketamine.”

The report went on to detail, “Contributing factors in Mr. Perry's death include drowning, coronary artery disease, and the effects of buprenorphine (used to treat opioid use disorder). The manner of death is an accident.”

Medical examiner Raffi Djabourian highlighted, “At the high levels of ketamine found in his postmortem blood specimens, the main lethal effects would be from both cardiovascular overstimulation and respiratory depression.”

Jennifer Aniston's heartfelt tribute to late 'Friends' co-star Matthew Perry

Meanwhile, Perry’s death devastated his friends, family, and fans across the world.

His ‘Friends’ co-star Jennifer Aniston posted on Instagram, “Oh boy this one has cut deep… Having to say goodbye to our Matty has been an insane wave of emotions that I’ve never experienced before.”

She shared, “We all experience loss at some point in our lives. Loss of life or loss of love. Being able to really SIT in this grief allows you to feel the moments of joy and gratitude for having loved someone that deep. And we loved him deeply.”

The actress also added, “He was such a part of our DNA. We were always the 6 of us. This was a chosen family that forever changed the course of who we were and what our path was going to be.”