Drug dealers are “now on notice,” says the late actor’s stepfather, Keith Morrison.
Matthew Perry‘s family is remembering his legacy on the first anniversary of his death, sharing that they are hopeful for justice after five people were charged in connection to his fatal drug overdose.
Perry’s mother Suzanne Morrison, in a joint interview with husband Keith Morrison and her three daughters Caitlin, Emily, and Madeline, said she was “thrilled” about the indictments in a conversation with Today that aired Monday to mark the anniversary of Perry’s passing on Oct. 28 of last year. He was 54.
Perry’s stepfather Keith Morrison, a broadcast journalist known for his correspondent work on Dateline NBC, even had a message for those charged: “You’re goin’ down,’ baby.
“What I’m hoping, and I think the agencies that got involved in this are hoping, that people who have put themselves in the business of supplying people with the drugs that’ll kill them — they are now on notice,” said Keith Morrison. “It doesn’t matter what your professional credentials are. You’re goin’ down, baby.”
Two doctors, Perry’s assistant, and an alleged San Fernando Valley drug dealer known as “The Ketamine Queen” of North Hollywood were among those charged in August for distributing ketamine to the Friends actor during the final weeks of his life.
“These defendants cared more about profiting off of Mr. Perry than caring for his well-being,” said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada at the time. “Drug dealers selling dangerous substances are gambling with other people’s lives over greed. This case, along with our many other prosecutions of drug dealers who cause death, send a clear message that we will hold drug dealers accountable for the deaths they cause.”
Perry’s family has since launched the Matthew Perry Foundation of Canada (the late actor was American-Canadian), established to help others struggling with addiction.
“He made it a big focus of his life to help other people, to encourage other people to say, ‘I need help.’ He tried to make people see that that was a brave thing,” said Perry’s sister Caitlin Morrison, who serves as executive director of the foundation, on Today. Helping others gave him a “sense of purpose,” she added.
“When someone came and asked him for help, he would drop everything and do it,” added Perry’s other sister Emily Morrison. “No matter where he was in life.”
The late actor wrote candidly about his addiction struggles in his 2022 memoir Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, noting in one excerpt, “When I die, as far as my so-called accomplishments go, it would be nice if Friends were listed far behind the things I did to try to help other people.”
Watch the Morrison family’s interview in full above.
