Lisa Kudrow Admitted There Was A Time In Which Hanging Out With Matthew Perry Wasn't Fun

Summary

• Matthew Perry's passing was shocking to his colleagues and fans, especially after his ominous last Instagram post.
• Lisa Kudrow opened up about how difficult it was to be around Perry during his struggles with addiction while filming Friends.
• Kudrow wrote a heart-wrenching foreword for Perry's memoir and is now baffled about his possibly drug-related death.

Matthew Perry's passing came as a shock to his colleagues and fans, especially after his ominous last post on Instagram. The actor, who wants to be remembered for helping others more than his role as Chandler Bing on Friends, notably struggled with addiction for most of his adulthood.

His former co-star Lisa Kudrow once said that "it was not fun" being around Perry back then while filming the hit NBC sitcom. Recently, a source also said that she's "baffled" about her friend's possibly drug-related death. Here's a closer look at Kudrow and Perry's friendship.

Matthew Perry's Addiction Was "Hard" For Lisa Kudrow

In 2002, Perry made headlines after opening up about his return to Friends after a rehab stint. At that time, Kudrow told The New York Times (via Us Weekly) that "hard doesn't even begin to describe" how she and the cast tried to cope with the comedian's condition. The cast of Friends discussed Perry's struggles in the past.

"When Matthew was sick, it was not fun," she confessed. "We were just hopelessly standing on the sidelines. We were hurting a lot. Matthew is one of the funniest people I’ve ever met in my life. He's charming and hilarious. Most of our hard laughs came from Matthew."

Perry entered a sober house for the first time in 1997 after a Vicodin addiction and heavy drinking. That year, Aniston told Entertainment Weekly that the 17 Again star was "one of the most sensitive people I've ever met." She went on to discuss his relationship with fame saying, "His feelings get hurt. He cares what people think. He even bruises easily."

The Go On alum previously told The View that he thought fame was going to fix his substance abuse issues. "I wanted fame more than anybody in the world," he said of his Friends stardom "And then I got it, and about like six months later, I went 'Oh this is not fixing what I thought it would fix,'"

"And I'm very grateful for everything that happened, of course. One of the things I said in the book, though, is it did help me with drugs and alcohol, that job," he explained. "Because when I said to myself, 'I'm on this amazing show,' you can't have the seventieth drink when you have to be at work the next morning with these wonderful people and doing the job."

He added that he "had a deal with myself that I would never drink or take anything while working, and I helped up to that deal." Still, he "was insanely hungover during the work" despite knowing "it was the greatest job in the world."

Lisa Kudrow Wrote A Heartbreaking Foreword For Matthew Perry's Book

On November 1, 2022, Perry released his memoir, Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing where he shared his journey into sobriety. Kudrow wrote a heartbreaking foreword for the book, which fans are now quoting on social media as a tribute to the late actor.

"'How's Matthew Perry doing,'" wrote The Comeback alum. "Over the many years since I was first asked, it's been, at different times, the most asked question for me. I understand why so many people asked it: they love Matthew and they want him to be OK. Me too."

"But I always bristled at that question from the press, because I couldn't say what I wanted to say: 'It's his story to tell and I'm not authorized to tell it really, am I!'" she continued. "I would have wanted to go on to say, 'This is very intimate personal stuff and if you don't hear it from the actual person, it is, to my mind, gossip and I'm not gossiping about Matthew with you.'"

She then said, "truly, I wasn't exactly sure how Matthew was doing. As he'll tell you in this book, he was keeping it a secret. And it took some time for him to feel comfortable enough to tell us some of what he was going through." As it turned out, she "didn't really try to intervene or confront him, because the little I knew about addiction was that his sobriety was out of my hands.

However, she "would have periods of wondering if I was wrong for not doing more, doing something. But I did come to understand that this disease relentlessly fed itself and was determined to keep going. So, I just focused on Matthew, who could make me laugh so hard every day, and once a week, laugh so hard I cried and couldn't breathe."

After describing her friend as "whip smart ... charming, sweet, sensitive, very reasonable and rational," Kudrow introduced the tell-all by saying that Perry "has survived impossible odds, but I had no idea how many times he almost didn't make it. I'm glad you're here, Matty. Good for you. I love you. -Lisa."

Lisa Kudrow Is "Baffled" By Matthew Perry's Cause Of Death

According to an exclusive Daily Mail source, Kudrow is "baffled" about Perry's death. The 54-year-old actor reportedly drowned in a hot tub in his Los Angeles home on October 28, 2023. An insider close to Kudrow claimed that the Friends cast suspects it was drug-related. "Although no one wants to believe it was medication - prescribed or not - of course that is a thought in their minds," they said.

"They are thinking he must have taken something that did not mix with the warm water," the source continued. "This does not seem real or fair to her or any of the gang. Because Matthew was finally at peace with himself and was having the best year of his life since his book launch almost exactly one year ago."

They went on to say that Perry "was enjoying life and that "he was closer than ever to his folks and actively engaged in his sobriety," hence the Romy and Michele's High School Reunion star feeling "baffled on what caused his death." The insider then confirmed that Kudrow "and cast will all be attending his services" and that she's Lisa "considering taking in his beloved dog Alfred."