Matthew Perry surrounded himself with “toxic” group of “enablers”, says Hollywood addiction expert
Matthew Perry surrounded himself with a “toxic” group of “enablers”, according to an expert in Hollywood in addiction.
Joe Schrank, who has also served as a sober counsellor to many Hollywood stars, made the comments in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter that explores the events leading up to Perry’s death.
Perry‘s personal assistant admitted in August that he had discovered him unconscious multiple times in the weeks before his death.
Kenneth Iwamasa is one of five people who was charged with Perry’s death last month, alongside Dr. Mark Chavez and Dr. Salvador Plasencia, Jasveen Sangha – known as the ‘Ketamine Queen’ – and film director Erik Fleming, a friend of Perry’s. Iwamasa was also the person who found Perry dead at his home.
Speaking about his death, Schrank told the Hollywood Reporter: “If Matthew Perry had been a plumber, he might have had a better outcome…I’ll give you an analogy that people in L.A. can relate to — sometimes a movie can be better with a smaller budget. While Perry had all the resources in the world, it wasn’t really working for his best health. Money and connections can buy you better outcomes when it comes to a lot of diseases, but not when it comes to addiction.”
Discussing the people Perry surrounded himself in his final days, Schrank added: “It was toxic. But that’s what they do. Addicts like Perry are going to surround themselves with enablers — assistants who will not draw lines in the sand, sycophantic hangers-on who’ll do anything to be near a celebrity, including get them drugs — and distance themselves from people that will tell them hard truths.”
Page Six reported last month that Iwamasa had filed a guilty plea for a count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death. He also admitted to repeatedly injecting Perry with the drug without appropriate training.
According to a plea agreement Iwamasa signed, he injected Perry with “significant quantities of ketamine” — he believed around “6-8 shots per day” — in the final days before the actor’s death.
He also administered the ketamine shot that killed Perry. Iwamasa had injected him three times the day he died – reportedly at 8:30am and then again around 12:45pm. Approximately 40 minutes later, Perry allegedly asked him to “shoot me up with a big one,” reportedly his final words before Iwasama found him dead in a hot tub hours later, having left the house to run errands.
Iwasama told investigators that during October, he had discovered Perry unconscious at least twice. He gave Perry at least 15 shots of ketamine, all of which were supplied by Sangha, according to the indictment.
Later that same day, the indictment says Sangha, 41, messaged Fleming on Signal, writing: “Delete all our messages.”
Sangha is charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine, one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises, one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, one count of possession with intent to distribute ketamine and five counts of distribution of ketamine.
Plasencia is charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine, seven counts of distribution of ketamine and two counts of altering and falsifying documents or records related to the federal investigation.
Fleming has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death, admitting in court documents that he distributed the ketamine that killed Perry. He admits he obtained the drug from Sangha and distributed 50 vials to Iwamasa, half of them four days before Perry’s death.
Chavez has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and admitted agreeing to sell the drug to Plasencia, some of which he diverted from his former clinic.
Iwamasa faces up to 15 years in prison, Fleming up to 25 years, and Chavez as much as 10 years according to reports in the US. Plasencia could be imprisoned for up to 10 years for each ketamine-related count and for up to 20 years for each record’s falsification count. Sangha could spend between 10 years to life in prison if convicted.
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Elizabeth Aubrey
NME
