Matthew Perry's autobiography, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing: A Memoir, releases on November 1, 2022 and several excerpts that have been leaked have already received backlash.
For instance, he reveals he had a crush on Valerie Bertinelli when he played her younger brother on the 1990 sitcom Sydney. He wrote: "I fell madly in love with Valerie Bertinelli, who was clearly in a troubled marriage... not only was she way out of my league, but she was also married to one of the most famous rock stars on the planet, Eddie Van Halen."
He added, "It is important to point out here that my feelings for Valerie were real. I was completely captivated — I mean, I was obsessed with her and harbored fantasies about her leaving Eddie Van Halen and living out the rest of her days with me.”
That's innocent enough, but when he gets into detail about a make-out session with Valerie in Eddie's presence, many felt he went too far in retelling the experience. "As the night progressed, it was clear that Eddie had enjoyed the fruits of the vine a little too hard, one more time, and eventually he just passed out, not ten feet away from us," Perry wrote. "This was my chance! If you think I didn’t actually have a chance in hell you’d be wrong, dear reader — Valerie and I had a long, elaborate make-out session. It was happening — maybe she felt the same way I did."
That prompted fans such as Ivan Ivanovitch, to comment on Yahoo: "Gentlemen never tell. Even AFTER the husband has passed." About Time added, "What a creep. He feels he needs to shout this out to the world and involve Valerie regarding a really private moment that could embarrass her. Clam up Matthew." LZ wrote: "This loser has no business releasing this info decades later," while Stagger Lee commented, "Creep makes out with a man's wife. I guess that's a cool thing to tell in a book for other creeps." 
Not only that, but he actually "didn't have a chance in hell." She froze him out the next day. He wrote that Bertinelli "made no mention of what had happened and was behaving — as she should have been — like this was just a normal day. I quickly got the hint... but inside I was devastated."
Perry also seems to have a strange hatred for Keanu Reeves, who's considered by many to be one of the nicest men in showbiz. They've never worked together, but Perry writes about Keanu not once, but twice, complaining, "Why is it that the original thinkers like River Phoenix and Heath Ledger die, but Keanu Reeves still walks among us?"
Later, when SNL star Chris Farley died from an overdose in 1997, Perry recalls, "I punched a hole through Jennifer Aniston’s dressing room wall when I found out. Keanu Reeves walks among us."
Perry also writes about dumping Julia Roberts because he was sure "she was going to break up with me. Why would she not? I was not enough; I could never be enough; I was broken, bent, unlovable. So instead of facing the inevitable agony of losing her, I broke up with the beautiful and brilliant Julia Roberts." He went on to say, he couldn't "begin to describe the look of confusion on her face" after he broke things off.
Julia went on to marry Danny Moder in 2002. They have three children and are still together after 20 years of marriage. ~Alexandra Heilbron
Some people should keep their memories and thoughts to themselves.
Have you been to the island, Mr. Perry?
always seemed strange to me on Friends. His Mom was PM PET's sexatary and he bragged about punching his son our current PM.
Must need the money. So he writes sensational stuff to sell books.
Is that a typo, seems like 'Perry' was supposed to read 'Petty' (no reference to the musician/singer, but to someone who dwells in insignificant or meaningless details, or is offended by the acts of others which are of little import). The content of this book is in really bad taste, immature, and really sad, and his editor should have put the brakes on, so he/she is also responsible for this insensitive and unempathetic content. Apparently, based upon this, he is still " broken, bent, unlovable." He seems to always try to "soften" these indiscretions by revealing how messed up he is. Sorry that doesn't cut it, just because you have and reveal self recriminations doesn't give you the moral authority to publish information regarding very personal events of others. Perhaps your dislike/hatred of a person you admit you don't know and never worked with, who to many others is considered a very nice person, is just jealousy that you aren't such a person yourself, but wishing he were dead, to replace people who YOU thought were more worthy of living, is significant of mental unstable and not justified. I'm one person who won't be buying, reading nor recommending this book.
His need for attention is above and beyond what is decent. He is showing what kind of man and human being he is .. not cool Matthew Perry
They may be great thinkers, but Keanu displays love and compansion and that is what scares most people. So Mathew, embrace that side of yourself and you will see why Keanu is still among us. Not to say that the thinkers are not filled with love, they're time had come and we can still learn from them being here for a short time.
Mathew clearly has grand delusions 10-1 the Valarie makeOut session was a drunk dream. an so true even if real True men honourable men never tell. Mathew is distasteful and i believe all tell all books should either never be written or written but they have to get the ok from each individual they talk about, an then wait till all parties have passed away. let any monatary gains tgen go to charity
Mathew clearly has grand delusions 10-1 the Valarie makeOut session was a drunk dream. an so true even if real True men honourable men never tell. Mathew is distasteful and i believe all tell all books should either never be written or written but they have to get the ok from each individual they talk about, an then wait till all parties have passed away. let any monatary gains tgen go to charity
I've read the book twice. Perry is brutally honest about his addiction and failed attempts. He takes full responsibility now sober after near death, 9 months of a colostomy bag, scars from many surgeries putting intestines right. Now 53, no wife, no children, alone. Net worth has him at $150 mil didn't need book for $$. Yes, he scored at 25 w/Friends even clarifying his addiction with weight loss/gain. Should he have mentioned the Valerie Bertinelli thing? She's a big girl, they kissed, so what? In her own book she admits infidelity. Maybe one needs been there to get it? Look how sickly thin at end of S3 he was, he owns it book and how healthy starting S4. He just told things how they were. He should be dead and knows it. He paid dearly for his addictions with what AMA now terms a disease. He speaks with admiration about so many from cast mates to show creators. I think he is brave and brutally honest about his addiction, failed sobriety attempts, losses.
Yes, I stated my impression of the book, Perry, his owning his addictions and the cost and loss. Maybe other addicts will draw inspiration and better understand of themselves here? What I don't get is the selective pettiness here. Oh my! He admits to one night making out with Valerie Bertinelli and an unexplained dislike of Keanu Reeves! I'm sorry Eddie died....they'd been divorced and each remarried and? He mentions making out with Gwyneth Paltrow in a closet before each was famous.....no one seemed to care?? He speaks of so many with high regard and folks here complain Perry refers to himself as broken and unlovable? One thinks his publisher should share in the shame. Wow! I say go write books about yourselves especially those who've struggled with addiction or worse. Put in EVERY SINGLE SHAMEFUL MOMENT....I DARE YOU! I bet none will and few that do will delete most. Try having some empathy and ask what Perry with $150 mil gains laying all this open and out there?
Distaste for K. Reeves? Is that how you read that? Saying he is alive and others aren’t is a lil pass “dislike”. He helped put Farley in his coffin with pairing on “Almost Heroes” and talking a hit punching a wall after death. “May others draw inspiration or better understanding……” really?? Your clueless on drug use and sobriety if think this admirable or a class thing to do. And yes lost many friends to drug use. They wouldn’t have no name dropping like him to sell books, so spare us the honesty bs.