Matthew Perry’s stepfather, Keith Morrison, thought the Friends star had his ketamine use under control before he died at age 54.
“It appeared to us as if he was [sober],” Morrison, 77, told Savannah Guthrie on the Monday, October 28, episode of Today, which marked one year since Perry died. After sharing his comment, Perry’s mother, Suzanne Morrison, shook her head.
“Not to you?” Keith asked his wife. “It certainly seemed like it to me.”
“Though he had been treated with ketamine, that it hadn’t turned into something that he couldn’t control,” Keith continued, “Although, he was a guy who would make decisions. ‘I can handle this. I can do this. I can tell you what’s right. I know the whole system inside and out. I know what the drug will do to me.’ So, there was the worry [of like], ‘What’s he really doing?’”
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Perry’s toxicology report released in December 2023 also listed drowning as one of the contributing factors to Perry’s death, as he was found deceased in his Los Angeles home hot tub by the time first responders arrived on the scene.
Perry was reportedly undergoing unsupervised ketamine treatment for anxiety and depression. “I don’t even know if in his mind, he had relapsed,” Perry’s half-sister, Madeleine Morrison, told Guthrie, 52.
Keith agreed, adding, “I don’t think he did.” (The Dateline host shares daughters Caitlin, 43, Emily, 39, and Madeline, 35, with Suzanne. She shares Matthew and stepdaughter Mia Perry with her ex-husband, John Bennett Perry.)
Five people have since been arrested and charged in connection to Perry’s death. His former assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, Dr. Mark Chavez and Erik Fleming have reportedly pleaded guilty, while the “Ketamine Queen” Jasveen Sangha and Dr. Salvador Plasencia have pleaded not guilty and will face trial next year.
“What I’m hoping — and I think the agencies that got involved in this are hoping — that people who have put themselves in the business of supplying people with the drugs that will kill them, that they are now on notice,” Keith said on Today. “It doesn’t matter what your professional credentials are. You’re going down, baby.”
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Suzanne, for her part, said she’s “thrilled” to see people face accountability for her son’s death.
In the year since the actor’s death, Matthew’s family have continued to honor him through the Matthew Perry Foundation of Canada, which works to support people struggling with addiction and substance abuse.
“I don’t think grief ever goes away. I have a huge amount of meaning in thinking about the fact that this isn’t our tragedy. This happens to people every day,” Caitlin shared.
Keith noted that there’s “nothing special” about their experience losing a loved one to addiction, “except for the fact that we had an extremely remarkable and famous family member who went through it.” He added: “People notice and people come up to us all the time and say, ‘Sorry for your loss.’ Well, millions of people have had that loss, and we’re very aware of that. This is not about us. It’s about those millions of people. It’s a hurting world and it needs some help.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
