Matthew Perry Plans to Remove Keanu Reeves Digs From Future Editions of Memoir

Perry's memoir was not kind to his fellow actor

Matthew Perry
Matthew Perry at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books.
Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Last year saw the publication of Matthew Perry’s memoir Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing. Upon its publication, the book received positive reviews, many of which hailed Perry’s penchant for candid commentary and bleak humor. Since the book’s publication, however, Perry seems to have rethought one aspect of the latter – and announced that a change would be afoot for future editions.

Perry appeared this weekend at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, and conversed on stage with Times editor Matt Brennan. As the Los Angeles Times reported, it was at that event that Perry announced that he would remove all references to Keanu Reeves from future editions of the book. In its original version, Perry included a pair of laments that Reeves was still alive while River Phoenix and Chris Farley were not.

“I said a stupid thing,” Perry told Brennan. “It was a mean thing to do.”

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“Any future versions of the book will not have his name in it,” he added. Perry also stated that he had selected Reeves because they live on the same street, and that he had apologized to him publicly. “If I run into the guy, I’ll apologize,” Perry said. “It was just stupid.”

Readers will be able to compare editions on or after June 4 of this year, when the paperback edition of Perry’s memoir goes on sale.

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