Topline
Unidentified scammers hacked into late actor Matthew Perry’s account on X this week, directing users to make cryptocurrency donations to a fraudulent site, according to a statement from the Matthew Perry Foundation, four months after the “Friends” actor’s sudden death.
Key Facts
The Matthew Perry Foundation announced the hack in a statement on Instagram, urging X users: “Please do not donate to this site or share the fraudulent posts on social media.”
Perry had not posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, since Oct. 26, two days before his death at the age of 54.
The post from hackers has since been removed, and multiple outlets reported it was flagged by the platform’s community notes, indicating the link was fraudulent.
After his death, the National Philanthropic Trust launched the Matthew Perry Foundation in his name, with the stated aim of combating “the disease of addiction” and eliminating the stigma associated with seeking treatment.
The identity of the scammers has not been made public.
Key Background
Perry broke into the national spotlight in the early 90s, and landed his best-known role in 1994, starring as Chandler Bing in NBC’s “Friends.” Perry starred in more than 230 episodes of the sitcom from 1994 through its series finale in 2004. The Canadian actor also starred in the ill-fated 2011 comedy series “Mr. Sunshine” and starred in the 2015 re-make of “The Odd Couple.” Perry opened up about his history of drinking and drug use in his 2022 memoir, “Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing,” labeling himself as a “drug addict,” and estimating he spent $9 million “trying to get sober.” He told the New York Times in 2022 he was able to get sober, following years spent in treatment centers, while people close to him told the Los Angeles Times late last year he was sober at the time of his death.
Tangent
In December, two months after Perry’s death, a Los Angeles County Medical Examiner autopsy determined the former “Friends” star’s cause of death was from “acute effects of ketamine.” The autopsy also attributed his death to drowning and coronary artery disease, and found the late actor had an opioid in his system called buprenorphine, which is used to treat opioid disorder. At the time, Perry had been attending ketamine-infusion therapy to treat anxiety and depression. His death was ruled an accident.
Further Reading
Matthew Perry Cause Of Death Revealed As ‘Acute Effects Of Ketamine’ (Forbes)
How Matthew Perry, A Canadian, Managed To Become An American Idol (Forbes)
Read More: Late Actor Matthew Perry’s X Account Hacked By Crypto Scammers
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