Information shared by a close friend of Perry's paints a vivid picture of his ongoing struggle with drug addiction. While the star was widely recognized for battling substance abuse in the past, the prevailing belief was that he had successfully overcome this challenge in his later years. Unfortunately, that perception couldn't be further from reality.
From The Daily Mail:
However, a close friend of the star who preferred not to be named said: 'He lied to everyone about being clean. He never was. It is very sad. You know, the biggest lie he told was probably to himself.'
The source added: 'He could be quite a manipulative person when it came to his struggles with using, but it was such a struggle, such a battle, and he battled every day to the end.'
An autopsy published Friday revealed that the star died from the 'acute effects of ketamine' and drowning, with Perry having similar quantities of ketamine in his system as a hospital patient under general anesthetic.
'The County of Los Angeles Department of Medical Examiner determined the cause of death for 54-year-old actor Matthew Langford Perry as the acute effects of ketamine,' the Los Angeles coroner's office said on Friday.
'Contributing factors in Mr Perry's death include drowning, coronary artery disease, and the effects of buprenorphine (used to treat opioid use disorder). The manner of death is accident.'
It's truly disheartening and somewhat unsettling to see the powerful grip that drugs maintained on Perry and his life.
This only underscores the fact that fame and wealth don't shield individuals from their inner demons. If anything, these factors seem to exacerbate the struggle.
