Matthew Perry’s personal assistant has made a stunning confession ahead of his sentencing, telling a judge he was simply unable to refuse Friends star’s requests for ketamine, although those requests ultimately contributed to Perry’s death.
Kenneth Iwamasa is due to be sentenced on May 27 and faces several years in prison for his role in securing ketamine for Perry and for injecting him with the drug on the day the actor died.
Perry died on October 28, 2023 from the acute effects of ketamine.
In new court documents obtained by TMZIwamasa pushed back against the prosecutors’ argument that he could have simply said no, arguing that the framing completely ignored the nature of his relationship with the actress.
In his application, Iwamasa described himself as an employee who “acted at all relevant times at [Matthew’s] direction rather than discretion.”
His attorney acknowledged that the employment relationship may have made it easier for his client to become entangled in the conspiracy to supply drugs to Perry than it might have been for someone with no personal connection, but also noted that others without such a relationship chose to participate regardless.
The application ended with a frank admission: Iwamasa “couldn’t ‘just say no'” and acknowledged that “[t]hat’s inability had tragic consequences.”
The documents are a request for leniency in sentencing, with Iwamasa’s legal team arguing that the power dynamic between employer and employee is a significant factor that the court should weigh in his favor.
Not everyone is likable.
Perry’s mother and sister have written letters to the court expressing their devastation, accusing Iwamasa of betraying the actor’s trust and enabling the addiction that killed him.
Their position stands in direct contrast to the picture Iwamasa’s defense tries to paint, that of a man trapped in a relationship dynamic that he felt powerless to resist.
