Friends star Matthew Perry 'spent around m trying to get sober'

Friends star Matthew Perry ‘spent around $9m trying to get sober’

Published

2 years ago

October 24, 2022

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Friends star Matthew Perry says he has spent around $9m (£8m) on rehab over the years, trying to break free of his substance and alcohol abuse.

The 53-year-old actor, who is publishing his autobiography next month, says he is currently clean and has been for the last 18 months.

Perry, who played Chandler Bing in the hugely successful NBC sitcom, told The New York Times: “I’ve probably spent $9m or something trying to get sober”.

The star said his substance struggles started with drinking as a teenager, before moving on to vodka and painkilling drugs Vicodin and OxyContin, and tranquilliser Xanax.

He said he was seeing eight doctors at the same time in order to obtain multiple prescriptions to satisfy his habit.

His decades of drinking and drug abuse came to a head in 2018 when Perry suffered a host of health issues including pneumonia, an exploded colon, a brief stint on life support, two weeks in a coma, nine months with a colostomy bag and more than a dozen stomach surgeries.

In his autobiography, he also talks about his front teeth falling out and having to carry them to the dentist in a plastic bag in his pocket.

Friends – about friends Chandler, Joey, Monica, Phoebe, Rachel and Ross living together in New York – ran for 10 seasons, with the six lead stars earning $1m per episode at their peak.

Perry’s appearance on the show changed as his weight fluctuated drastically due to his drug abuse.

In his book, he also describes Jennifer Aniston confronting him over his drinking in his trailer, and being treated in an alcohol addiction centre while he was filming his wedding to Monica, and leaving the studio with his “sober technician” to check back into the facility.

Perry has previously said his addictions were so bad he cannot remember three years of his time on the show, from seasons three to six.

The stars got back together one last time for Friends: The Reunion back in May 2021.

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Perry, who split up with Molly Hurwitz – his fiancé of three years – in 2021, says he now has a “sober companion” as well as “a couple of people on the payroll to keep me safe”.

As well as sponsoring three Alcohol Anonymous members, Perry dedicates his book “to all the sufferers out there”, adding, “you know who you are”.

Perry’s autobiography, Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing, published by Flatiron, is out on 1 November.

Entertainment

Could Saoirse Ronan finally win her first Oscar?

Published

3 hours ago

September 29, 2024

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Could Saoirse Ronan finally win her first Oscar?

Saoirse Ronan has become one of the Academy Awards’ anomalies after being nominated four times without taking home a statuette.

The American-born Irish star received her first Oscars nod at the age of just 13, when she featured in the best supporting actress category for her role in Atonement.

Since then, despite being shortlisted three times for best actress for Brooklyn, Lady Bird and Little Women, she has never won.

Now, the 30-year-old is set to compete in both the lead and supporting actress categories at the 2025 awards for her new films The Outrun and Steve McQueen’s Blitz.

If she secures one or both nominations, she would become the youngest actor to receive five, or six, nods.

Directed by Nora Fingscheidt, The Outrun, which is inspired by the life of writer Amy Liptrot, follows a Scottish woman struggling with alcoholism while living in fast-paced London.

In a bid to maintain her sobriety, she returns home to Orkney and finds herself in the process.

“Nora really wanted us to have our input in terms of who these characters were and situations that we would find them in”, Ronan told Sky News.

“We had a script that was written and the structure of it was there, but we were sort of able to fill in the gaps a little bit.”

The Scottish drama marks the first time Ronan has worked as a producer on a project and she says she took a lot from the experience.

She said: “There is a lot going on behind the scenes that actors are protected from, and sometimes I think it would be valuable for an actor to know the drama that exists when they’re not around.

“I think it might make people behave a little bit better and to know that it is sort of like a domino effect when there’s one thing that’s out of place, it really will affect everything else by you not getting on to a call at a certain time.”

She said it gave her a new appreciation for the craft.

“It’s very difficult to get an independent movie made and to try and source the money needed to just even pay people is difficult sometimes.

“So, yes, it’s just having an awareness of and the graft involved and that has definitely made me appreciate the movies that I’m on so much more where I am just an actor and I don’t have to worry about any of that stuff at all.”

The film also stars The Lazarus Project’s Paapa Essiedu as her boyfriend Daynin.

Battling with the person she has become, her character Rona returns to the Orkney Islands to try to reconnect with nature.

The Oscar nominee said sea swimming at a remote location was therapeutic for the cast and crew.

“We finished [shooting] on Papa Westray, where we had to have a micro crew. There’s 90 inhabitants on the whole island.

“We stayed in people’s homes because there’s no hotels or anything like that. We ate together every night. We walked to work like it was a very stripped back experience in terms of filmmaking.

“And I think that was sort of felt like art imitating life a little bit after all the chaos of the beginning of the shoot. To have that at the end was wonderful.”

The Outrun is in cinemas now.

Entertainment

Lana Del Rey marries alligator tour guide boyfriend

Published

1 day ago

September 28, 2024

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Lana Del Rey marries alligator tour guide boyfriend

Pop star Lana Del Rey has married her alligator tour guide partner in Louisiana, according to reports.

The singer, 39, and Jeremy Dufrene, 49, are said to have obtained a marriage licence in Lafourche parish on Monday and had their wedding three days later.

Footage obtained by the Daily Mail appears to show Del Rey, whose real name is Elizabeth Woodridge Grant, wearing a white dress where Mr Dufrene works as a tour guide in Des Allemandes, south of New Orleans.

Del Rey has not commented on the reported wedding.

She met Mr Dufrene in 2019, posting pictures of her on one of his tours with the caption: “Jeremy lemme be captain at Arthur’s Air Boat Tours x.”

Arthur’s Air Boat Tours gives guided tours through the local swamps, where its website says visitors are likely to see “300 species of birds” and “alligators up close and personal”.

Mr Dufrene’s profile page says he previously worked seven days a week at a chemical plant – when he would “shrimp on vacation days”.

“After a little convincing by his family, he got his captain’s licence and started running tours,” it adds.

“Jeremy’s a great airboat captain and loves interacting with wildlife & customers.”

The couple were pictured together at Reading and Leeds festival this summer where Del Rey headlined.

She previously dated Scottish singer Barrie-James O’Neill for three years and was last linked to a police officer called Sean Larkin.

Entertainment

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs: Woman accuses rapper of further sexual assault allegations in new lawsuit

Published

1 day ago

September 28, 2024

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Sean 'Diddy' Combs: Woman accuses rapper of further sexual assault allegations in new lawsuit

Sean “Diddy” Combs was hit with further sexual assault allegations after a woman filed a lawsuit in New York.

In the fresh civil case, the woman – identified by the pseudonym Jane Doe – claims she was repeatedly raped and drugged at the music mogul’s homes and became pregnant after one of the encounters.

It follows a series of similar legal cases brought by women against Combs, 54, who was arrested at a hotel in New York last week on sex trafficking, drug possession and firearms offences.

The latest lawsuit was filed on Friday against Combs, his companies and several associates, and seeks undisclosed damages for physical injuries, severe emotional distress, humiliation, anxiety and other harm.

The woman claims she met Combs abroad in 2020 and that the assaults and harassment continued through to July this year.

She says she was often coerced and harassed into travelling to Combs’ homes in New York, Los Angeles and Miami and other cities, and during every visit the rapper would make her “perform a show” for him.

In one encounter alleged to have taken place in July 2022, the woman claims she blacked out after being forced to take drugs that included ketamine.

She later allegedly took a pregnancy test and told Combs it was positive. She said an associate of the music producer repeatedly demanded her to get an abortion. The lawsuit states she had a miscarriage.

The woman, who is being represented by lawyers Marie Napoli and Joseph Ciaccio, also alleges Combs and his associates tracked her location and monitored her conversations.

She claims Combs discouraged her from working and gave her an “allowance” that he used to control her.

“No one is above the law. Fame and wealth do not protect Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs from serious allegations of sex trafficking and abuse,” Ms Napoli said in a statement.

Combs has been facing civil allegations including rape, sexual assault, and forced drugging since November 2023.

He has pleaded not guilty to racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking but remains jailed, having been denied bail. His attorney said he is innocent and will fight to clear his name.

A lawyer for Combs did not respond to the allegations made in Friday’s lawsuit when contacted by the Associated Press news agency.