Topics: Celebrity, Health, Drugs, Matthew Perry, Friends
Friends star Lisa Kudrow expressed concerns she should have asked Matthew Perry how he was doing more while he was struggling with addiction.
Kudrow shared her concerns about her friend's wellbeing as she wrote the forward for his memoir, Friends, Lovers and The Big Terrible Thing, prior to his death on 28 October.
Perry was open about his experience with addiction both in his book and in interviews he conducted in the years after he finished playing Chandler on Friends, admitting his addiction at times almost killed him.
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When officers responded to the actor's home in Los Angeles on 28 October, there were no drugs at the scene.
Kudrow, who played Phoebe on Friends, admitted in the forward she was often asked about how Perry was doing during interviews.
"Over the many years since I was first asked, it's been, at different times, the most asked question for me," she wrote. "I understand why so many people asked it: they love Matthew and they want him to be OK. Me too."
However, Kudrow pointed out that not only was she 'not authorized' to tell Perry's story, but he also kept it 'secret' from his co-stars.
"It took some time for him to feel comfortable enough to tell us some of what he was going through," the actor explained.
Kudrow admitted she 'didn't really try to intervene or confront' Perry at the time as she knew 'his sobriety was out of [her] hands'.
Still, she feared she'd made the wrong decision, writing: "And yet, I 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."
Kudrow said Perry's memoir marked 'the first time' she heard what 'surviving his addiction really was'.
She continued: "He 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."
Kudrow joined her other Friends co-stars in paying tribute to Perry after he passed away, saying they were 'all so utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew'.
"We were more than just cast mates. We are a family. There is so much to say, but right now we’re going to take a moment to grieve and process this unfathomable loss," the joint statement continued.
"In time we will say more, as and when we are able. For now, our thoughts and our love are with Matty’s family, his friends, and everyone who loved him around the world."
