“Friends” co-creator Marta Kauffman feared that Matthew Perry was struggling with drug addiction after seeing him during the 2021 taping of the show’s reunion special.
Perry was found dead in his jacuzzi on Saturday at the age of 54. No cause of death has been released.
“I was concerned about him,” Kauffman told “Today” host Hoda Kotb in an interview that aired Wednesday.
“Knowing that he’d been through everything he’d been through, and every time he had surgery they’re giving him opioids for pain, and the cycle starts over again,” Kauffman explained.
“So, yes, I was concerned about what point in the cycle he was in that moment.”
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Perry was slurring his speech during the show, worrying many fans.
The actor later acknowledged the slurring, explaining that he had undergone “emergency dental surgery” days before filming the “Friends” reunion, Page Six reported.
“They did all sorts of things,” Perry recounted in an October 2022 interview with ABC News. He said the procedure “made [his] mouth feel like fire.”
“So what I chose to do was just go and do the best that I could,” he stated.
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Kauffman told “Today” that she had just spoken with Perry two weeks before his death.
“He seemed better than I had seen in a while. I was so thrilled to see that. He was emotionally in a good place. He looked good. He quit smoking,” she recalled, adding that he was sober at that time.
Kauffman believed that Perry’s work to help others overcome addiction had given his life purpose.
On Monday, Perry’s “Friends” co-stars Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer released a joint statement to “People” regarding his passing.
“We are all so utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew. We were more than just cast mates. We are a family,” the statement read. “There is so much to say, but right now we’re going to take a moment to grieve and process this unfathomable loss.”
“In time we will say more, as and when we are able,” the actors continued. “For now, our thoughts and our love are with Matty’s family, his friends, and everyone who loved him around the world.”
“Friends” co-creator David Crane told “Today” that the cast members were tight-knit.
“From Day One, … you could tell [the six of them] were going to be a family. And we all were,” Crane said.
“In 10 years you do go through a lot. There’s a journey on screen and off screen,” he said, referring to the show’s run from 1994 to 2004. “And I think when we talk about Matthew, we were all very aware that our priority was supporting him.”
