Charlie Sheen is making a major claim about Matthew Perry’s sobriety journey.
“I could tell he wasn’t sober talking about a book that is all about sobriety and recovery,” Sheen, 60, stated about Perry during an interview on “Piers Morgan Uncensored” Tuesday.
The “Friends” actor went on his book tour to promote his memoir, “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing,” one year before he died of a ketamine overdose in Oct. 2023 at age 54.
“I felt really bad, I felt bad for him,” said Sheen. “When I heard a little snippet from the audio book, he didn’t have that perfect, specific, laser-focused diction that he always had delivering comedy or [doing] anything at the level that he did.”
“So I could hear a man who was … handicapped,” Sheen added.
The “Two and a Half Men” alum, who is on a press tour for his memoir and Netflix documentary that explore his own addiction battle, noted that he “didn’t know” Perry “that well,” but related to his struggles.
“I read his book, and I read it in a day, and I loved it,” Sheen shared. “And I’m so proud of him and inspired by it. Then I wanted to reach out, you know, because I’m in his book … when he says, ‘Eff Charlie Sheen and I’m going to be that famous one day too.’ And I didn’t.”
“I think he died, like, three weeks after I read the book,” Sheen added.
When Morgan, 60, asked if Sheen wishes “he got through” to Perry, Sheen responded: “I don’t know if I could’ve affected what ultimately happened, right?”
“But I could see when he was promoting it [the book], I could feel the sort of prison he put himself in,” Sheen also said.
Eleven months after releasing his memoir in Nov. 2022, Perry was found dead in his Los Angeles home. The medical examiner ruled that ketamine was the primary cause of death.
Perry had been using ketamine through his regular doctor as a legal, but off-label, treatment for depression.
Five people were charged in Perry’s overdose death, including his former personal assistant and a drug dealer known as the “Ketamine Queen.”
At the time of Perry’s book release, he said he was 19 months sober.
“I’m an extremely grateful guy. I’m grateful to be alive, that’s for sure. And that gives me the possibility to do anything,” he told People in Oct. 2022.
Perry revealed in his memoir that he attended 6,000 AA meetings, gone to rehab 15 times, and been in detox 65 times during his years-long addiction battle.
The “17 Again” actor estimated he spent around $9 million trying to get sober.