Matthew Perry to remove controversial Keanu Reeves comments from future memoir editions

Actor Matthew Perry has decided to remove his controversial remarks about Keanu Reeves from future editions of his memoir, “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing.”

The memoir is a candid telling of Perry’s struggle with substance abuse and addiction. However, he faced backlash last fall for references to Reeves that some found offensive including in one excerpt about his friend River Phoenix’s 1993 death, CNN reported.

“River was a beautiful man, inside and out - too beautiful for this world, it turned out. It always seems to be the really talented guys who go down. Why is it that the original thinkers like River Phoenix and Heath Ledger die, but Keanu Reeves still walks among us?” Perry wrote in his memoir.

Perry, who has previously apologised over his controversial remarks, recently expressed regret for the same at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. He vowed to remove Reeves’ name from future editions of his book.

“I said a stupid thing. It was a mean thing to do. I pulled his name because I live on the same street,” Perry said during the panel, noting that “any future versions of the book will not have his name in it.”

Perry is yet to apologise to the Matrix star in person.

“If I run into the guy, I’ll apologise. It was just stupid,” Perry concluded.

Perry’s memoir was released on November 1 last year.