Matthew Perry's upcoming tell-all memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, holds the power to break the internet at this point.
A number of hard-hitting revelations from the book - including a $9million payout in a bid to get sober and a brush with death four years ago - have grabbed headlines all over the globe, but it's the Friends actor's swipes at Keanu Reeves which diverted this narrative off course yesterday.
It has emerged that in one extract, Matthew, 53, questions why 'original thinkers' like River Phoenix and Heath Ledger have died, while fellow actor Keanu Reeves, 58, 'still walks among us'.
He writes, 'River was a beautiful man, inside and out — too beautiful for this world, it turned out. It always seems to be the really talented guys who go down. Why is it that the original thinkers like River Phoenix and Heath Ledger die, but Keanu Reeves still walks among us? River was a better actor than me; I was funnier. But I certainly held my own in our scenes — no small feat, when I look back decades later.'
Canadian film star Keanu was then referenced a second time when Matthew drew on the death of comedian Chris Farley. 'His disease had progressed faster than mine had. (Plus, I had a healthy fear of the word ‘heroin,’ a fear we did not share). I punched a hole through Jennifer Aniston’s dressing room wall when I found out. Keanu Reeves walks among us. I had to promote ‘Almost Heroes’ two weeks after he died; I found myself publicly discussing his death from drugs and alcohol. I was high the entire time,' Matthew wrote.
These seemingly-unprovoked comments prompted an onslaught of backlash and many rushed to Twitter to have their say. Amongst the aggrieved was actress Rachel Zegler, who wrote, 'personally thrilled that keanu reeves walks among us'.
Lynda Carter also sided with Keanu, tweeting, 'Come on... Keanu Reeves is like one of those frozen cakes. Nobody doesn't like him!'
Another tweet read, 'One of the things I appreciate most about Keanu Reeves is that, in 30 years of fame, I’ve never heard him publicly say an unkind word about anyone.'
But ladies and gentlemen, we have a plot twist, as apparently, Matthew considers himself a Keanu fan.
No, you haven't read that wrong.
Responding to the backlash, the Chandler Bing actor said in a statement, 'I'm actually a big fan of Keanu. I just chose a random name, my mistake. I apologise. I should have used my own name instead.'