Matthew Perry

[shellie]

This reminds me an awful lot of the drama that surrounded Heath Ledger's death. They went after Mary-Kate Olsen who's long been rumored to be a celebrity drug dealer, and who was the first person who was called by the masseuse who found Ledger's body. Mary-Kate lawyered up quickly, secured immunity, and the whole episode was quickly swept under the rug.

As for Perry, he chose to take drugs again and again throughout his life. The drugs that killed him weren't laced. He knew what he was doing. Trying to shift the blame onto some wicked woman is standard Hollywood tabloid BS.

The thing is while it was his choice to do it, as it led to his death, they could decide to press charges. I don't think they care about the woman but are leaning on them to find out who the actual person who is selling the stuff is.

It happened with Phillip Seymour Hoffman who died of an overdose, as did others who bought from the same batch and the dealer ended up charged over it but managed to escape jail time and instead went to rehab.

 

[WaWooWeeWa]

The thing is while it was his choice to do it, as it led to his death, they could decide to press charges. I don't think they care about the woman but are leaning on them to find out who the actual person who is selling the stuff is.

It happened with Phillip Seymour Hoffman who died of an overdose, as did others who bought from the same batch and the dealer ended up charged over it but managed to escape jail time and instead went to rehab.

Was that PSH? If I recall correctly he died from acute mixed drug intoxication which makes it hard to connect to a specific drug. He had cocaine, benzos, and heroin in his system.

I know that Michael K. Williams' dealer was successfully prosecuted in NYC.

 

[shellie]

Was that PSH? If I recall correctly he died from acute mixed drug intoxication which makes it hard to connect to a specific drug. He had cocaine, benzos, and heroin in his system.

I know that Michael K. Williams' dealer was successfully prosecuted in NYC.

Yep, the dealer who gave him the gear was a musician who worked with Amy Winehouse and others. They arrested him after an informant said he saw Phillip there buying the stuff and they worked out from the timeline that it was likely that was the heroin that was in his system when he died but couldn't verify 100% he got it from the dealer. That on top of there being other stuff found as you say meant all they could get him on was felony possession and intent to sell.

Hoffman’s ‘dealer’ wants rehab over prison

The accused heroin dealer who cops believe sold drugs to actor Philip Seymour Hoffman said in court papers Tuesday that he is a raging addict in need of help – asking to be sent to a court-ordered …

nypost.com

 

[Flowerpotgirl]

And he had dodged death so many times before (his bowels literally exploded due to drug use). He was a drug addict. A rich and talented one, but an addict who willfully took the risk. It's not really a surprise that some of his friends were users too.

I am sure that is why his castmates werent closer with him. I dont know that he was ever really sober.

 

[Beverley Macker]

I doubt the police go to this much trouble over dead addicts on skid row

 

[IfTheCapFits]

Can't say I'm comfortable reading 'he was an addict, it was his choice'.

Addiction literally changes your brain chemistry & thought processes. Yes, he should have protected himself by not being around anyone who could supply. But it’s really not as simple as that unfortunately.

 

[NowIsGood]

I am sure that is why his castmates werent closer with him. I dont know that he was ever really sober.

Absolutely, I remember in particular David Schwimmer's tribute to him and you could tell they weren't close at all anymore. Even Lisa admitted they hadn't spoken in years when she wrote a prologue for his book.
---

Can't say I'm comfortable reading 'he was an addict, it was his choice'.

Addiction literally changes your brain chemistry & thought processes. Yes, he should have protected himself by not being around anyone who could supply. But it’s really not as simple as that unfortunately.

I would have agreed, however after reading his book, I'm afraid it changed my opinion of him completely. Addiction aside, he didn't come across as a very nice man (and I'm the biggest friends fan!)

 

[lilyannrose]

It baffles me that people are "excusing" the drug dealers. Wouldn't getting drugs off our streets be a good thing? They blight so many lives and children especially often feel the brunt of growing up in a society where drug taking is so common it feels like it is normalised. Even weed can be bad because it is cut with all sorts these days... I imagine homegrown stuff where a smoker knows where it came from is okay? So yeah, can't get on board with being weirdly forgiving of dealers.

 

[WaWooWeeWa]

It baffles me that people are "excusing" the drug dealers. Wouldn't getting drugs off our streets be a good thing? They blight so many lives and children especially often feel the brunt of growing up in a society where drug taking is so common it feels like it is normalised. Even weed can be bad because it is cut with all sorts these days... I imagine homegrown stuff where a smoker knows where it came from is okay? So yeah, can't get on board with being weirdly forgiving of dealers.

I don’t disagree, but the dealers who sell to celebrities are not the same people as the street level dealers who sell to normals (and are often illegal migrants connected to big cartels in central and South America). Look at the PSH guy above, your average drug dealer is not a high level musician who hobnobbed with Amy Winehouse. It reeks of law enforcement and prosecutors going for a big flashy case that will make the news rather than focusing on cases that are less glamorous, but per-capita much more necessary for public order.

Can't say I'm comfortable reading 'he was an addict, it was his choice'.

Addiction literally changes your brain chemistry & thought processes. Yes, he should have protected himself by not being around anyone who could supply. But it’s really not as simple as that unfortunately.

Honestly, the older I get the more this point falls apart for me. A lot of things change your brain chemistry -- food, exercise, mental illness, meditation, smoking, PTSD, aging. It happens to all of us, and I'm not comfortable with saying some people have free will and other people are slaves to brain chemicals and can’t be held fully responsible for their bad choices.

Matthew Perry knew that what he was doing could kill him; he knew that because of it he had hurt himself, the people he loved, his career. He died either because of the choices he made, or because his addiction forced him to. Both of those processes occurred in his brain. What is the difference? Does it matter?

 

[SarcasticEllis]

Absolutely, I remember in particular David Schwimmer's tribute to him and you could tell they weren't close at all anymore. Even Lisa admitted they hadn't spoken in years when she wrote a prologue for his book.
---

I would have agreed, however after reading his book, I'm afraid it changed my opinion of him completely. Addiction aside, he didn't come across as a very nice man (and I'm the biggest friends fan!)

His autobiography was really uncomfortable reading as it was clear that even if not in active addiction, he was not in the right frame of mind to be documenting all his issues. There should have been a duty of care; I don’t believe he could have written it without the help of a ghost writer and even then, it was not well edited, it was heartbreakingly repetitive about his wish for a different life.
I did get the feeling that his friends castmates had distanced themselves in recent years - in the same way every person affected by another’s substance use wrestles with - but that Jennifer Anniston maybe felt she had to put something more emotional, due to everything he’d written about her.

 

[Miss.Chanandler.Bong]

Could be wrong but I don’t think after it ended the boys were particularly close to any of them. I think only the girls are still close, mainly Jen and Courteney

 

[Flowerpotgirl]

Can't say I'm comfortable reading 'he was an addict, it was his choice'.

Addiction literally changes your brain chemistry & thought processes. Yes, he should have protected himself by not being around anyone who could supply. But it’s really not as simple as that unfortunately.

Ultimately, it is the persons choice. Being an addict doesn’t excuse your behavior. No one else can make the decisions for you. It is up the person to get their tit together. Which is hard to read-but it’s true. Unless you are in a forced setting like prison, you make the decisions as to what you injest.

 

[youncer]

Wow. You've found the cure! Just choose not to suffer from addiction. You're going to be rich.

 

[lilyannrose]

His autobiography was really uncomfortable reading as it was clear that even if not in active addiction, he was not in the right frame of mind to be documenting all his issues.

I didn't read it but did not need to the press leaked the most "juicy" bits and it was mortifying. I don't think many people in their right mind would have made such revelations even in the name of healing through honesty.

The worst was the way he asked why Keanu Reeves was "still here" rather than "original thinkers" like River Phoenix and Heath Ledger. He retracted it after the outcry but wow, if there was ever a sign that he was still using all along!

 

[WaWooWeeWa]

Wow. You've found the cure! Just choose not to suffer from addiction. You're going to be rich.

Sorry but I just don’t see what other options there are, and I say this as someone who has both known addicts and has been one myself. There is not a single treatment program that doesn’t start with making a choice to get better.

 

[MrFMercury]

I listened to him reading his memoir as an audiobook. It was an experience. I mean his childhood involved a whole lot of abandonment and I remember thinking that Chandler Bing, the guy who is cripplingly insecure and uses humour to make people like him wasn’t a leap at all. He was praised for staying in that role for a long time. I suspect he swung between being furious at the world and self destruction and trying to be ‘good’ to make everyone like him again. Even if he’d stayed clean I was amazed his body had withstood everything it had already been through.

 

[lilyannrose]

I listened to him reading his memoir as an audiobook. It was an experience. I mean his childhood involved a whole lot of abandonment and I remember thinking that Chandler Bing, the guy who is cripplingly insecure and uses humour to make people like him wasn’t a leap at all. He was praised for staying in that role for a long time. I suspect he swung between being furious at the world and self destruction and trying to be ‘good’ to make everyone like him again. Even if he’d stayed clean I was amazed his body had withstood everything it had already been through.

I remember an interview clip where he said how much he wanted the job when Friends was casting and he said I *am* Chandler... which is actually so sad.

 

[Flowerpotgirl]

Wow. You've found the cure! Just choose not to suffer from addiction. You're going to be rich.

Can you please tell me what the cure is? And I am not meaning to be snarky. I am just wondering what you see the solution being.

 

[emeraldopal]

Ultimately, it is the persons choice. Being an addict doesn’t excuse your behavior. No one else can make the decisions for you. It is up the person to get their tit together. Which is hard to read-but it’s true. Unless you are in a forced setting like prison, you make the decisions as to what you injest.

Sadly addiction isn't a matter of choice. That's what makes it addiction. The choice is taken away from you. That's the difference between an addict and a non-addict

 

[Flowerpotgirl]

Sadly addiction isn't a matter of choice. That's what makes it addiction. The choice is taken away from you. That's the difference between an addict and a non-addict

That doesn’t address the actual issue though. What do you see as the treatment for addiction? Millions of people survive addiction and make different choices for themselves.