Matthew Perry is removing controversial mentions of Keanu Reeves from future editions of memoir

By Alli Rosenbloom, CNN

The one where Matthew Perry tries to make amends with Keanu Reeves.

The “Friends” star appeared at the LA Times Festival of Books on Saturday and during a panel, told the audience that he plans to remove Reeves’ name from future editions of his 2022 memoir “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing.”

The memoir is a candid telling of Perry’s struggle with substance abuse and addiction, but the actor faced backlash last fall for references to Reeves that some found offensive including in one excerpt about his friend River Phoenix’s 1993 death.

“River was a beautiful man, inside and out — too beautiful for this world, it turned out. It always seems to be the really talented guys who go down,” Perry wrote. “Why is it that the original thinkers like River Phoenix and Heath Ledger die, but Keanu Reeves still walks among us?”

Perry previously apologized for the comment, saying in a statement to People in October 2022 that he’s “a big fan” of Reeves and had just chosen a “random name” in the prose. “I apologize. I should have used my own name instead,” he added in the statement.

On Saturday, Perry addressed the Reeves mention once more, this time telling the audience “I said a stupid thing. It was a mean thing to do,” according to the LA Times.

“I pulled his name because I live on the same street,” Perry said during the panel, noting that “any future versions of the book will not have his name in it.”

While Perry had previously apologized to Reeves, he also mentioned on Saturday that he’s yet to apologize to the “Matrix” star in person.

“If I run into the guy, I’ll apologize. It was just stupid,” Perry concluded.

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CNN’s Lisa Respers France contributed to this story.