Kevin Brennan ex SNL writer reviled over Matthew Perry junkie comments following Friends’ star tragic death over the weekend – as cause of death yet to be determined.
Infamy at what cost? A former SNL writer has caused furore over ‘insensitive’ comments made in the aftermath of Friends’ actor, Matthew Perry’s death over the weekend, age 54 at his Pallisades, California residence over the weekend.
The actor who along with his five other co-stars served as the face of a generation growing up in modern day America had struggled with drug addiction and alcoholism. Struggles which he painfully documented in a best seller biography.
While it will be months before a toxicology reports come back as to whether Perry had relapsed (he previously said of being sober since May, 2021) in the days prior – comedian Kevin Brennan, who also runs his own podcast show —Misery Loves Company — took no prisoners when he tweeted: ‘But I do love it when junkies die.’
‘But I do love it when junkies die.’
The former ‘Saturday Night Live’ writer initially posted a series of messages following news of Matthew Perry’s 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 it’s not very deep.’
The podcaster then defended his remarks after TMZ published a story about them.
‘I didn’t mock it,’ he said, sharing the TMZ story. ‘I just thought it was funny.
Adding, ‘But I do love it when junkies die.’
‘Am I trending?’
Brennan, 63, perhaps unsurprisingly, has received a torrent of backlash for his comments in the immediate aftermath, with the comic (define comedy?) asking Sunday, ‘Am I trending yet?’
One X user called him a ‘p–ck’ in response to his comments over Perry’s death, writing, ‘I hope you are never affected by this insidious disease.’
Brennan in turn reposted the comment, writing: ‘Sounds like fun.’
Another user also wrote to Brennan, ‘I will never understand the mindset of someone who posts s–t like this.
‘I wish you well, because you must be sick,’ the X user wrote, to which Brennan replied, ‘Thank you.’
Responded another to Brennan, ‘Remind me to laugh at you when it’s your turn,’ which the comic wrote back, ‘I’ll probably forget.’
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.
The Big Terrible Thing
Law enforcement sources told TMZ that first responders rushed to the address after Perry’s personal assistant called reporting a cardiac arrest.
The sources said no drugs were found at the scene and no foul play is suspected. That of course does not discount the possibility that Perry may have been using in the days and weeks prior, potentially leading to the laden actor suffering disastrous consequences in a hot tub (where one’s vitals become elevated).
Pending the outcome of a toxicology report which will take months to complete, the cause of Perry’s death was ruled indeterminate.
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.
When it takes death to receive validation you always sought
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 that’s 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.
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.’
‘That’s what I want.’
‘The best thing about me, bar none, is that if somebody comes to me and says, ‘I can’t 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 don’t want ‘Friends’ to be the first thing that’s mentioned,’ Perry said. ‘I want that to be the first thing that’s mentioned. And I’m gonna live the rest of my life proving that.’
