Matthew Perry‘s mother, Suzanne Morrison, penned a heartbreaking letter ahead of sentencing for the Friends actor’s personal assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, for his role in Perry’s death.
In October 2023, the actor who played Chandler Bing in the beloved sitcom died at 54 in a hot tub. His cause of death was the “acute effects of ketamine.”
The Department of Justice wrote that Iwamasa “repeatedly” injected Perry with ketamine “without medical training”—including multiple injections the day that he died — according to an indictment unsealed in August 2024. Iwamasa pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death; his sentencing is on May 27.
With less than a week until Iwamasa’s fate is decided, snippets of a victim impact statement from Morrison were recently published by People. The bereaved mother said in the letter that she and her family “believed” that the assistant “understood” Perry’s addiction battle. Morrison also said that Iwamasa’s “most important job” was to serve as Perry’s “companion and guardian in his fight against addiction” to ensure that he was “drug free.
“But instead of protecting Matthew, he aided and abetted illegal drug taking, arranged for one source of supply, then another,” Morrison explained. “Shot the drugs into Matthew’s body, though he was not in the least qualified.. He did it even though he could see, anyone could have seen, it was so obviously dangerous. And he did it again and again.”
In the wake of Perry’s death, Morrison said that Iwamasa “kept a sharp eye on” her. “He sent me songs, he drew a little map to help me find my way around the cemetery,” she detailed. “If he saw a rainbow — one of Matthew’s favorite things — he would call me.” Perry’s assistant also “insisted” on speaking at his funeral and acted “as if he was somehow the good guy who tried to save Matthew.”
After noting that Iwamasa even “threatened legal action to pry a settlement from workmen’s comp,” Morrison bluntly stated: “We trusted a man without a conscience, and my son paid the price.”
Friends aired for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004. In addition to Perry, the sitcom starred Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, and Matt LeBlanc.
Friends, streaming on HBO Max
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