Outrage as ex-SNL writer mocks Matthew Perry’s death: ‘I do love it when junkies die’

Published

2 years ago

October 30, 2023

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Comedian Kevin Brennan has sparked disgust by celebrating Friends star Matthew Perrys sudden death — even writing, I do love it when junkies die.

The former Saturday Night Live writer wrote a series of messages soon after news broke of the beloved actors death on Saturday,

DROWNED IN A HOT TUB. HAHAHAHA,” Brennan initially wrote on X.

Asked Why is drowning in a hot tub funny? Brennan replied, Because its not very deep.

The podcaster then defended his remarks after TMZ published a story about them.

I didnt mock it, he said, sharing the TMZ story. I just thought it was funny.

But I do love it when junkies die. 7 Former “Saturday Night Live” writer Kevin Brennan mocked “Friends” star Matthew Perry’s death over the weekend.WireImage

Brennan, 63, who hosts the Misery Loves Company podcast, has since been receiving backlash online though he has seemed to revel in the controversy, asking Sunday, Am I trending yet?

One X user called him a p–ck in response to his callousness about Perry’s death, writing, I hope you are never affected by this insidious disease.

But Brennan simply reposted the comment, writing: Sounds like fun. 7 Brennan, who hosts the Misery Loves Company podcast, laughed at the news Perry had died in his jacuzzi.@mlcpodcast / X

Another user also wrote to Brennan, I will never understand the mindset of someone who posts st like this.

I wish you well, because you must be sick, the X user wrote, to which Brennan replied, Thank you.

And when a third tweeted to Brennan, Remind me to laugh at you when its your turn, he wrote back, Ill probably forget. 7 When one X user asked him why he thought Perry’s death was funny, Brennan said “Because [a hot tub’s] not very deep.”@mlcpodcast / X

Meanwhile, Brennans former show, Saturday Night Live, paid tribute to the beloved Friends actor just hours after he died.

During the NBC sketch series, a black and white photo of the actor and his name appeared on the screen.

Perry, 54, was found dead in the jacuzzi of his home in the ritzy Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles just after 4 p.m. on Saturday. 7 Brennan seemed to revel in the criticism he received for his tweet, asking on Sunday, “Am I trending yet?”@mlcpodcast / X

Law enforcement sources told TMZ that first responders rushed to the address after a call reporting a cardiac arrest. Its currently unclear who phoned 911.

The sources said no drugs were found at the scene and no foul play is suspected.

The Los Angeles County Medical Examiners Office confirmed to The Post on Sunday that an autopsy for the late star has been completed. However, the doctor has ordered more testing, including toxicology, which could take a few months.

The cause of death is deferred. 7 Perry, 54, was found dead in the jacuzzi of his home in the ritzy Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles just after 4 p.m. on Saturday.Getty Images

Perry who was not married and had no children had a long history of drug and alcohol abuse.

He opened up about his decades-long battle with addiction in a memoir titled Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing, which was published last year.

Perry went to rehab 15 times and had undergone 14 surgeries to try and mitigate the damage done to his stomach lining due to alcohol and opioid use. 7 Law enforcement sources told The Post no drugs were found at the scene.WFLA

The actor claimed that he almost died in 2018 due to a gastrointestinal perforation. He spent two weeks in a coma and five months in the hospital. He also had to use a colostomy bag for nine months.

The doctors told my family that I had a 2 percent chance to live, Perry stated during a promotional interview for his book last year. I was put on a thing called an ECMO machine, which does all the breathing for your heart and your lungs. And thats called a Hail Mary. No one survives that.

Last year, Perry claimed he had spent close to $9 million getting sober over the years and finally triumphed. The star had been drug and alcohol-free since May 2021. 7 Perry is best known for his role as Chandler on “Friends,” but said he wants to be remembered for the work he has done trying to help others with addiction.Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection

In a promotional interview for his book last year, Perry said he would like to be remembered as somebody who lived well, loved well, was a seeker. And his paramount thing is that he wants to help people.

Thats what I want.

The best thing about me, bar none, is that if somebody comes to me and says, I cant stop drinking, can you help me? I can say yes and follow up and do it, he added, noting that is how he wants to be remembered.

When I die, I dont want Friends to be the first thing thats mentioned, Perry said. I want that to be the first thing thats mentioned. And Im gonna live the rest of my life proving that.

Politics

Why Boris’s best mate is off to Reform

Published

16 mins ago

July 10, 2025

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👉Listen to Politics at Sam and Anne’s on your podcast app👈       

Former Conservative chairman and friend of Boris Johnson – Sir Jake Berry – is defecting to Reform UK, causing more problems for Tory leader Kemi Badenoch.

On today’s episode, Sky News’ Sam Coates and Politico’s Anne McElvoy discuss if his defection will divide parts of Reform policy.

Elsewhere, the Anglo-French summit gets under way, with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer hoping to announce a migration deal with French President Emmanuel Macron to deter small boat crossings.

Plus, chatter around Whitehall that No10 are considering a pre-summer reshuffle, but will it have any value?

US

Donald Trump praises Liberian president’s English – the country’s official language

Published

16 mins ago

July 10, 2025

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Donald Trump praises Liberian president's English - the country's official language

Donald Trump has praised the Liberian president’s command of English – the West African country’s official language.

The US president reacted with visible surprise to Joseph Boakai’s English-speaking skills during a White House meeting with leaders from the region on Wednesday.

After the Liberian president finished his brief remarks, Mr Trump told him he speaks “such good English” and asked: “Where did you learn to speak so beautifully?”

Mr Trump seemed surprised when Mr Boakai laughed and responded he learned in Liberia.

The US president said: “It’s beautiful English.

“I have people at this table who can’t speak nearly as well.”

Mr Boakai did not tell Mr Trump that English is the official language of Liberia.

The country was founded in 1822 with the aim of relocating freed African slaves and freeborn black citizens from the US.

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Mr Trump promised the leaders of Liberia, Senegal, Gabon, Mauritania and Guinea-Bissau a pivot from aid to trade at the surprise meeting.

He described the countries as “all very vibrant places with very valuable land, great minerals, and great oil deposits, and wonderful people”.

Later asked by a reporter if he’ll visit the continent, Mr Trump said, “At some point, I would like to go to Africa.”

But he added that he’d “have to see what the schedule looks like”.

Trump’s predecessor, President Joe Biden, promised to go to Africa in 2023, but only fulfilled the commitment by visiting Angola in December 2024, just weeks before he left office.

US

Gaza permanent ceasefire ‘questionable’, says Israeli government

Published

16 mins ago

July 10, 2025

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Gaza permanent ceasefire 'questionable', says Israeli government

The Israeli government believes the chances of achieving a permanent ceasefire in Gaza are “questionable”.

The pessimistic assessment, in a top-level Israeli government briefing given to Sky News, comes as the Israeli Prime Minister prepares to leave Washington DC after a four-day visit which had begun with the expectation of a ceasefire announcement.

Benjamin Netanyahu will leave the US later today with the prospect of even a temporary 60-day ceasefire looking extremely unlikely this week.

Within “a week, two weeks – not a day” is how it was framed in the background briefing late on Wednesday.

Crucially, though, on the chances of the ceasefire lasting beyond 60 days, the framing from the briefing was even less optimistic: “We will begin negotiations on a permanent settlement. But we achieve it? It’s questionable, but Hamas will not be there.”

Sky News has spoken to several Israeli officials at the top level of the government. None will be drawn on any of the details of the negotiations over concerns that public disclosure could jeopardise their chances of success.

But I have been given a very clear understanding of Mr Netanyahu’s thinking.

The Israeli position is that a permanent ceasefire (beyond the initial 60 days, which itself is yet to be agreed) is only possible if Hamas lays down its arms. “If they don’t, we’ll proceed [with the war],” said a source.

The major sticking point in the talks between Hamas and Israel is the status of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) inside Gaza during the 60-day ceasefire and beyond, should it last longer.

The latest Israeli proposal, passed to Hamas last week, included a map showing the proposed IDF presence inside Gaza during the ceasefire.

This was rejected by Hamas and by Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, who reportedly told the Israelis that the redeployment map “looks like a Smotrich plan”, a reference to the extreme-right Israeli finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich.

My briefing of Mr Netanyahu’s position is that he has not shifted in terms of Israel’s central stated war aims. The return of the hostages and eliminating Hamas are the key objectives.

But in a hint of how hard it will be to reconcile the differences, it was clear from my briefing that no permanent ceasefire is possible in the Israeli government’s view without the complete removal of Hamas as a political and military entity.

Hamas is not likely to negotiate its way to oblivion.

On the status of the Israeli military inside Gaza, a senior Israeli official told Sky News: “We would want IDF in every square metre of Gaza, and then hand it over to someone.”

It was clear to me that Mr Netanyahu wants his stated position to be that his government has no territorial ambition for Gaza.

One quote to come from my briefing, which I am only able to attribute to a senior Israeli official, says: “[We] don’t want to govern Gaza… don’t want to govern, but the first thing is, you have to defeat Hamas.”

Another clear indication of Mr Netanyahu’s position – a quote from the briefing, attributable only to a senior Israeli official: “You cannot have victory if you don’t clear out all the fighting forces.

“You have to go into every square inch unless you are not serious about victory. I am. We are going to defeat them. Those who do not disarm will die. Those who disarm will have a life.”

On the future of Gaza, it’s clear from my briefings that Mr Netanyahu continues to rule out the possibility of a two-state solution “for the foreseeable future”.

The Israeli government assessment is that the Palestinians are not going to have a state “as long as they cling to that idea of destroying our state”.

On the most controversial aspect of the Gaza conflict – the movement of the population – the briefing revealed that Mr Netanyahu’s view is that 60% of Palestinians would “choose to leave” but that Israel would allow them to return once Hamas had been eliminated.

“It’s not forcible eviction, it’s not permanent eviction,” a senior Israeli official said.

Critics of Israel’s war in Gaza say that any removal of Palestinians from Gaza, even if given the appearance of being “voluntary”, is in fact anything but, because the strip has been so comprehensively flattened.

Reacting to Israeli Defence Minister Katz’s recent statement revealing a plan to move Palestinians into a “humanitarian city” in southern Gaza, and not let them out of that area, the official wouldn’t be drawn, except to say: “As a permanent arrangement? Of course not.”