Actor Matthew Perry speaks onstage through the sixty fourth Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Nokia Theatre … [+]
Excerpts from Matthew Perry’s upcoming memoir, wherein Perry will get candid along with his struggles with habit, have been inspiring headlines for a number of weeks. One passage, which took a random, mean-spirited jab at Keanu Reeves, sparked backlash on-line, prompting an apology from Perry.
Within the passage, Perry discusses his shut friendship with the late River Phoenix, and his response to Phoenix’s demise in 1993 from an overdose.
“River was a gorgeous man, in and out — too lovely for this world, it turned out,” Perry wrote within the e book. “It all the time appears to be the actually proficient guys who go down. Why is it that the unique thinkers like River Phoenix and Heath Ledger die, however Keanu Reeves nonetheless walks amongst us?”
It’s an odd, tasteless jab that appears to return out of nowhere, and Perry repeats the sentiment in a later passage the place he describes his response to the demise of Chris Farley, who additionally died from an overdose.
Perry writes. “I punched a gap by means of Jennifer Aniston’s dressing room wall once I came upon. Keanu Reeves walks amongst us. I needed to promote ‘Virtually Heroes’ two weeks after he died; I discovered myself publicly discussing his demise from medication and alcohol. I used to be excessive the complete time.”
There aren’t many “unproblematic” celebrities on the market these days, and Reeves is among the few who stays nearly universally beloved, particularly on-line. So many celebrities have been outed as abusers, or grow to be consumed by bigotry, whereas Reeves has a repute of being a genuinely pretty individual.
Therefore, the web immediately got here to his protection.
Some speculated that Perry is likely to be nursing some sort of private grudge in opposition to Reeves, whereas others famous that the jab was notably merciless, contemplating that Reeves has skilled greater than his justifiable share of grief and loss.
In response to the flood of condemnation, Perry rapidly apologized, and tried to make clear his intentions. In a assertion to Individuals Journal, Perry mentioned:
“I’m really a giant fan of Keanu. I simply selected a random title, my mistake. I apologize. I ought to have used my very own title as an alternative.”
Some commentators have been confused by Perry’s apology, as Reeves didn’t appear to be a random title in any respect; like Perry, Reeves was as soon as shut pals with River Phoenix.
In earlier interviews, Reeves has been candid about how a lot he nonetheless grieves the late actor. In an interview with Esquire, Reeves mentioned Phoenix, stating:
“It’s bizarre talking about him prior to now. I hate talking about him prior to now. So I nearly all the time gotta maintain it current. He was a extremely particular individual, so authentic, distinctive, good, proficient, fiercely artistic. Considerate. Courageous. And humorous. And darkish. And light-weight. It was nice to have recognized him.”
Maybe Perry, who rose to fame within the nineties, the place “edgy” humor was rather more well-liked, was merely making a foul joke that basically didn’t land; tastes have modified, as audiences have grow to be extra empathetic.
These days, that sort of mean-spirited humor has grow to be strongly related to right-wing provocateurs, or fading comedians clinging on to relevancy by means of controversy.
No matter Perry was pondering, he absolutely discovered his lesson – by no means goal Keanu Reeves, essentially the most beloved man on the web.
