Jennifer Aniston admits 'Friends' cast mourned Matthew Perry long before his demise due to actor's addiction struggles

Washington DC [US], August 12 : Actress Jennifer Aniston has opened up on her 'Friends' late co-star Matthew Perry's years-long struggles with addiction, saying that they started "mourning" Perry long before his demise, reported Variety.

In an interview with Vanity Fair, as quoted by Variety, Aniston discussed Perry's years-long struggles with addiction, calling it one of the hardest fights for the actor, his fans and co-stars.

"We did everything we could when we could," Aniston said of her and her colleagues' efforts, which Perry also expressed in his 2022 memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, as per Variety.

"But it almost felt like we'd been mourning Matthew for a long time because his battle with that disease was a really hard one for him to fight. As hard as it was for all of us and for the fans, there's a part of me that thinks this is better. I'm glad he's out of that pain," added Aniston as per the Variety.

According to the outlet, Perry passed away on October 28, 2023, at the age of 54 from what the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's Office in December 2023 said were the "acute effects of ketamine."

His body was discovered in the hot tub of his Pacific Palisades home, with the autopsy report also listing drowning, coronary artery disease and the effects of buprenorphine, a drug used to treat opioid use disorder, as contributing to his death, reported Variety.

In the most recent update to the fallout of Perry's overdose death, one of the doctors who supplied him with ketamine entered a long-expected guilty plea to four counts of distribution. Dr. Salvador Plasencia faces up to 40 years behind bars and could end up paying more than 1 million USD in fines under the plea deal.

Plasencia took a plea deal in June in which he admitted to distributing ketamine without a legitimate medical purpose to the 'Friends' star, who died of an overdose in October 2023.

In exchange, prosecutors dropped charges of falsifying medical records and additional counts of distribution, Variety reported.

As for Jennifer Aniston, the actress will be next seen in the fourth instalment of the film 'The Morning Show'. As per teaser, the artificial intelligence appears to be the news topic that will most impact Season 4.

It is set to release on September 17, according to Variety.

Reese Witherspoon will also play the lead role in the film, along with Jennifer Aniston.

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