Matthew Perry apologises for Keanu Reeves comments in new memoir

Matthew Perry has apologised for asking why Keanu Reeves "still walks among us" in his new memoir.

In his upcoming autobiography, Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing, the actor questioned why the John Wick star "walks among us" when his friends River Phoenix and Chris Farley are dead.

After his comments drew confusion and criticism online, Matthew issued a statement insisting he has nothing against The Matrix actor.

"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," he said in a statement to People and Deadline.

The Friends star brought up Keanu in a section of the memoir about his friend and former co-star River, who died from a drug overdose aged 23 in 1993.

"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," he wrote. "Why is it that the original thinkers like River Phoenix and Heath Ledger die, but Keanu Reeves still walks among us?"

Matthew, who suffered from addiction to alcohol and painkillers for years, mentioned the action star again when he wrote about losing comedian Chris, who died of a drug overdose in 1997 aged 33.

"His disease (addiction) had progressed faster than mine had. (Plus, I had a healthy fear of the word 'heroin,' a fear we did not share)," he continued. "I punched a hole through Jennifer Aniston's dressing room wall when I found out. Keanu Reeves walks among us."

Matthew's comments hit headlines earlier this week and received responses from celebrities, with Rachel Zegler tweeting, "Personally thrilled that Keanu Reeves walks among us," and Lynda Carter wrote, "Keanu Reeves is like one of those frozen cakes. Nobody doesn't like him!"

The actor's memoir will be released on 1 November.