‘Friends’ star Matthew Perry’s mother has spoken out in a heartbreaking letter ahead of the sentencing of his former assistant, saying her son “paid the price” for trusting him.
Perry’s longtime assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death after the actor died at age 54 in October 2023.
According to prosecutors, Iwamasa repeatedly injected Perry with ketamine despite having no medical training. Court documents state that on the day Perry died, the actor allegedly told him to “Shoot me up with a big one” before entering his hot tub.
Now, Perry’s mother, Suzanne Morrison, has shared an emotional victim impact statement describing how deeply betrayed the family feels.
“We trusted a man without a conscience, and my son paid the price,” Morrison wrote.
She said the family believed Iwamasa understood Perry’s addiction struggles and that his “most important job” was to protect him and help keep him “drug free.”
“But instead of protecting Matthew, he aided and abetted illegal drug taking,” she wrote. “Shot the drugs into Matthew’s body, though he was not in the least qualified.”
Morrison also described the painful aftermath of Perry’s death, writing: “And then one night he was just a body, lying all but naked on the cold, damp grass of his backyard.”
“He threatened legal action to pry a settlement from workmen’s comp,” she added. “We trusted a man without a conscience, and my son paid the price.”
Despite everything Perry endured throughout his life, Morrison said her son remained “my heart and my soul.”
“Nothing takes this pain away, nor will it, I am sure, for as long as I live,” she wrote.
Iwamasa is one of five people charged in connection with Perry’s death. Prosecutors are reportedly recommending a 41-month prison sentence, with sentencing scheduled for May 27.
