Matthew Perry’s mom is not mincing words when it comes to her son’s death.
WEST HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA – NOVEMBER 17: Matthew Perry attends the GQ Men of the Year Party 2022 at The West Hollywood EDITION on November 17, 2022 in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for GQ)
Suzanne Morrison wrote a victim impact statement ahead of Kenneth Iwamasa’s sentencing hearing. Iwamasa was the “Friends” star’s personal assistant until his death in 2023. Perry passed away from the “acute effects of ketamine” after his assistant injected him with the drug multiple times, according to People.
NEW YORK, NY – APRIL 26: Matthew Perry attends “The Circle” Premiere at the BMCC Tribeca PAC on April 26, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tribeca Film Festival)
Morrison’s statement, obtained by TMZ, read, “Matthew fought for half his life – more than half – against addiction. Fought and failed and came back to fight again.” She wrote that she was relieved when Iwamasa started working for Perry, saying, “He had known Kenny, and so had we, for 25 years.”
WEST HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA – NOVEMBER 17: Matthew Perry attends the GQ Men of the Year Party 2022 at The West Hollywood EDITION on November 17, 2022 in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for GQ)
“Mathew trusted Kenny. We trusted Kenny. Kenny’s most important job – by far – was to be my son’s companion and guardian in his fight against addiction,” the statement continued. “His number one responsibility – ensure that Matthew remained what he wanted to be: drug free. Kenny knew, should he feel unduly pressured, that with one phone call to any number of the people in Matthew’s orbit, reinforcements would be on the way, and his job would be safe.”
Instead of helping the Emmy nominee, Morrison said Iwamasa “aided and abetted” his drug addiction. “[Iwamasa] arranged for one source of supply, then another. Shot the drugs into Matthew’s body, though he was not in the least qualified,” she wrote. “And when he had killed my son, he kept a sharp eye on me. He sent me songs, he drew a little map to help me find my way around the cemetery.”
Matthew Perry poses for a portrait in New York on Feb. 17, 2015. (Photo by Brian Ach/Invision/AP, File)
“We trusted a man without a conscience, and my son paid the price,” the statement read. “Nothing takes this pain away, nor will it, I am sure, for as long as [I] live.”
The hearing is set for May 27, and prosecutors have recommended a sentence of 41 months in prison, plus three years supervised release.
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