Matthew Perry, known for his role as Chandler Bing on "Friends," passed away at 54. New details have surfaced, revealing that Perry asked his longtime assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, to administer ketamine three times on the day he died.
According to court documents obtained by NBC News, Perry asked Iwamasa to “shoot me up with a big one” early in the morning on October 28, 2023. The first dose was administered at 8:30 a.m. He requested a second dose four hours later while watching a movie at his $5.2 million Los Angeles mansion. Later in the day, Perry asked for a third dose and instructed Iwamasa to prepare his jacuzzi. After running errands, Iwamasa returned to find Perry unresponsive in the hot tub.
Perry had previously opened up about using ketamine to manage his depression, but in the weeks leading up to his death, he was abusing the drug. Iwamasa, according to his plea deal, had been administering ketamine to Perry for about a month, following instructions from Dr. Salvador Plasencia. Plasencia, who had taught Iwamasa how to administer the drug, was charged alongside Dr. Mark Chavez and Erik Fleming in connection with Perry’s death.
Prosecutors revealed that Perry paid $55,000 in cash for ketamine in the weeks before his passing. Despite knowing Perry’s struggles, Plasencia allegedly conspired with Chavez to profit from supplying him with the drug. Plasencia reportedly texted Chavez, “I wonder how much this moron will pay,” highlighting the exploitation of Perry’s addiction.
Days before Perry’s death, Plasencia witnessed the actor’s body “freeze up and his blood pressure spike” after administering ketamine, fully aware that Perry had just received a dose from his official doctor. Despite this, Plasencia continued to provide Perry with the drug.
Perry had a long history of substance abuse, which he candidly discussed in his 2022 memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing: A Memoir. He described ketamine as having his name “written” all over it, noting that while it helped him “disassociate” from life, it also made him feel like he was “dying.”
“Taking K is like being hit in the head with a giant happy shovel. But the hangover was rough and outweighed the shovel,” Perry wrote.
In a 2022 interview on the Q with Tom Power podcast, Perry shared his wish to be remembered as “somebody who lived well, loved well, [and] was a seeker.” He added, “And his paramount thing is that he wants to help people. That’s what I want.”
