BREAKING: Friends star Matthew Perry dead at 54 in apparent drowning

Actor Matthew Perry, who played Chandler Bing on the iconic 1990s sitcom Friends, had died at 54. The cause of death is an apparent drowning.

TMZ reports that law enforcement found Perry in the jacuzzi at his California home near Los Angeles. First-responders rushed to the scene after being notified of a potential cardiac arrest.



No foul play is suspected, and drugs were apparently not found at the scene despite Perry's years of substance abuse issues.

His addiction was an issue off screen and led to turmoil within the Friends cast. He uses drugs, alcohol, and pain killers, and did multiple stints in rehab.

In a memoir called Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing, Perry documented his struggles and successes. He spoke candidly about what he faced and worked to help others. 

Speaking about his book on the talk show circuit, Perry was often moved to tears when discussing the difficulties he faced and his own regrets. The Friends cast members, however, stood by him.

That book became a New York Times bestseller after it's 2022 release. He noted at the time that he was grateful for the love and support of his fans.

When the Friends had a reuinion special, fans were aware that he was often slurring his words and looked "a bit out of it," TMZ reports.

Friends ran for 10 seasons and Perry was in all 234 episodes of the series with the tight-knit cast, which launched the stardom of Matt LeBlanc, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow and David Schwimmer.

The series had faced its own recent difficulties as it became a beacon for woke activists who claimed that the show wasn't diverse enough, since it featured six white actors living a life of apparent privilege in New York City. Leading lady Aniston said that some now see the show as "offensive."

"There’s a whole generation of people, kids, who are now going back to episodes of 'Friends' and find them offensive," the star said at the time.

Perry also had been in other shows, such as Silver Spoons, Growing Pains, Charles in Charge, Beverly Hills 90210, Ally McBeal, The West Wing, Scrubs, and so many others.

His last tweet was about "perfect movies." He said that two movies, Back to the Future and Midnight Run, were both in that category, and joked "I'm Mattman."

Perry was Canadian, and in November 2022, went back to Toronto to speak about his book. 

"Oh Canada," he said in November 2022, "how I’ve missed you! So nice being back to my home country to share a glimpse of my story with you all. To all of you who have come out to @hotdocs
to listen to me speak about my journey with @tompowercbc - it means the world, thank you."

This is a breaking story and will be updated.