Don’t snub Matthew at the Oscars ...it was his dream
Ex-girlfriend also calls for a new probe into Friends star’s death
MATTHEW Perry’s ex-girlfriend has called for a tribute to be paid to the Friends star at tomorrow night’s Oscars, saying it was his “dream” to be recognised at the ceremony.
Kayti Edwards, his former assistant, urged executives not to snub the late actor like the BAFTAs did last month.
She also wants police to re-open the investigation into his death, believing a rogue medic could have been behind a dose of ketamine found in his system after he died at home in his hot tub aged 54 last October.
In an exclusive interview before the Academy Awards ceremony, Kayti said Matthew should be acknowledged in its five-minute In Memoriam section.
Kayti, 47, who dated the late actor in 2006 but remained friends with him up until his death, says: “I know that it would mean a lot for him to be honoured at the Oscars in some way.
“I remember talking to him about how it was always his dream to be recognised, and not just for Friends.
“He was always aware of the sad reality that Friends got tons of awards but personally I don’t think he got one.”
Matthew’s movie credits included 17 Again with Zac Efron, The Whole Nine Yards with Bruce Willis and Fools Rush In with Salma Hayek.
The Oscars’ tribute section, which is accompanied by a live singer, is kept under wraps until Sunday night.
At last month’s film BAFTAs, actress Hannah Waddingham sang Cyndi Lauper’s Time after Time for its In Memoriam section – which controversially did not feature Matthew. However bosses have promised to honour him at their TV awards instead.
Kayti said: “I am not surprised at all by the backlash [to the BAFTA snub]. He was so very well loved. He had a love-hate relationship with his film career.
“He was always cast in a funny role or love interest but he wanted roles with more depth.”
Matthew made his name as wise-cracking Chandler Bing in Friends, making £780,000 an episode. It ran from 1994 until 2004. But behind the scenes, he was struggling with addiction and revealed in his memoir how he spent over £7million trying to get sober, including 15 trips to rehab.
An autopsy found he succumbed to the “acute effects” of ketamine. He had been receiving ketamine infusion therapy to treat depression. However his last session was a weekand-a-half before he died, and ketamine only stays in the system for four hours.
The LAPD closed the investigation but Kayti said: “It needs to be looked at again. When he was taking 50 Vicodin painkillers a day, he got it from
a nurse who would bring it to his house. He had a way of enabling people to do things.” Kayti was roped into securing his drugs when she dated him in 2006, and was his assistant in 2011.
“He made it so hard to say no. He was like ‘Kayti, can you pick up this envelope for me, I’ll give you $5,000?’ I want them to investigate medical staff to see if he had a deal to
I want police to investigate medics, to see if he had a deal to get ketamine on the side
KAYTI EDWARDS PERRY’S FORMER GIRLFRIEND AND ASSISTANT
give him ketamine on the side. When he was in his addiction, it was very scary. “He was a vacuum cleaner of anything he could get his hands on. You can’t make an active addict stop. You can just be there for them.”
Kayti – granddaughter of film icon Julie Andrews – remained friends with Matthew after they split. Off-screen, he liked to stay at home.
Kayti said: “He liked to watch movies, listen to music and cook. He just wanted to be himself. “It’s really sad that most people in his life wanted something from him. He never had a solid group of friends who just cared about him, not who he was.” When Kayti last saw him he had “gained a lot of weight” and had got engaged to New York-born literary manager Molly Hurwitz.
After his death, reports emerged that he threw a coffee table at Molly when she accused him of cheating in 2021. It was also alleged he was aggressive towards friend Morgan Moses. Neither the alleged victims, nor Matthew’s estate, have commented.
Kayti says: “I never saw Matthew’s violence. But I’m not discrediting her story. If you take the drugs away and somebody’s in active addiction, they do get very angry.”
In his final months, Kayti was worried by images of him looking dishevelled. “It was clear he had started declining. He was probably battling being sober and not being sober. He just didn’t care any more.”
Kayti, who runs a horse rescue ranch in California, added: “He was very supportive of my life. He was a really good friend.”
■ Oscars Live, tomorrow, 10.15pm on ITV1