'Friends' star Mathew Perry died because of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Question

This claim is completely false and misleading. Yes, some people who get the COVID-19 vaccine might endure some complications but not for Matthew Perry. After doing some research on the user, "vikkifromjersey", on their TikTok platform, it was quickly revealed that they presented themselves as a huge advocate for anti vaccination. Matthew Perry's death was not caused or connected to the COVID-19 vaccine. The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner stated that the autopsy report of Matthew Perry's death showed the usage of ketamine. Perry was using "... ketamine infusion therapy, an experimental treatment used to treat depression and anxiety." Because Mathew Perry was sitting in a hot tub while he was using ketamine, it caused him to lose consciousness and drown. Ketamine is approved by the U.S. health regulatory, but is mainly used for surgeries but has been used as an "...experimental treatment for a range of psychiatric and hard-to-treat conditions, including depression, anxiety and chronic pain." The autopsy ruled Perry's death from "the effects of ketamine" so this proves that the COVID-19 vaccine did not play a role in his death. This claim was intended to mislead others. 

Sources:

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/arts/autopsy-report-shows-actor-matthew-perry-died-from-effects-of-ketamine 

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/302663 

Comments

Your response gave me a lot of quick and accurate information. It taught me that the claim posted was wrong and misleading. Starting by saying it was false and misleading helps correct the information even if people don't read the whole thing. Your sources were good, but maybe you could look at a few more to explain better that his death was caused by a mix of things, including ketamine, according to the autopsy.

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The summary of the problem and inclusion of quotes from the article really proves this to be false. This was a very in depth and convincing analysis that thouroughly disproved the claim.

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I am a student at the U of O and we are doing an assignment on fact-checking on this site. I found an article on PBS, which I believe to be a very trustworthy site that has been used in the past on this site to fact-check others. They gave a statement stating

 "Matthew Perry died from the acute effects of the anesthetic ketamine, according to the results of an autopsy on the 54-year-old “Friends” actor released Friday." Also very known Perry had suffered with a drug addiction for most of his life and struggled with it while filming the show 'friends'


https://www.pbs.org/newshour/arts/autopsy-report-shows-actor-matthew-perry-died-from-effects-of-ketamine#:~:text=Autopsy%20report%20shows%20actor%20Matthew%20Perry%20died%20from%20effects%20of%20ketamine,-Arts%20Dec%2016&text=LOS%20ANGELES%20(AP)%20%E2%80%94%20Matthew,%E2%80%9CFriends%E2%80%9D%20actor%20released%20Friday.

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Upon digging into the death of Matthew Perry's, claims that the covid vaccine killed the actor were quickly debunked. Numerous news sites such as Poynter and RollingStone have addressed the misleading rumors. They reiterate that Perry's death was a caused by drug overdose and an accumulation of preexisting health problems from years of drug addiction. This rumor began in the comment section of an Instagram post of Perry's photo, an unreliable source and piety dish for rumors. RollingStone titles their article: "Twisted Anti-Vaxxers Rush to Blame Matthew Perry’s Death on Covid Vaccine". For this, we can see that this is simply a rumor and the covid vaccine was not the culprit in Perry's death.

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He didn't die due to COVID-19. He previously was addicted to drugs and drowned due to unknown circumstances. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/arts/autopsy-report-shows-actor-matthew-perry-died-from-effects-of-ketamine#:~:text=Autopsy%20report%20shows%20actor%20Matthew%20Perry%20died%20from%20effects%20of%20ketamine,-Arts%20Dec%2016&text=LOS%20ANGELES%20(AP)%20%E2%80%94%20Matthew,%E2%80%9CFriends%E2%80%9D%20actor%20released%20Friday.

Answer 1

This article is very misleading. Matthew Perry's actual cause of death was reported by Healthline, CBS, New York Times, and more. These sources revealed his autopsy reported he died from "acute effects of ketamine," not the COVID-19 Vaccine. Matthew Perry suffered from a life of addiction and there is nothing to show that the vaccine affected his health. This claim is entirely false and misleading. 

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/matthew-perry-cause-of-death-ketamine/

https://www.healthline.com/health-news/matthew-perry-cause-of-death-acute-effects-of-ketamine#:~:text=Actor%20Matthew%20Perry%20died%20of,and%20the%20effects%20of%20buprenorphine.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/15/arts/matthew-perry-cause-death-friends.html

Answer 2

I did a little further digging into this claim and found very similar results. Mathew Perry the "Friends" star did not in fact die from the covid-19 vaccine. As Matt Stevens and Derrick Bryson Taylor wrote in the New York Times "The medical examiner’s office said that drowning, coronary artery disease and the effects of an opioid, buprenorphine, had contributed to his death. But the autopsy ascribed his death primarily to “the acute effects of ketamine". With finding that along with a bit of a further deep dive into the user "vikkifromjersey's" tiktok account I can concur that this is not the first time a claim like this has been made. Ever since the arrival of these vaccines claims of misinformation such as the vaccine causing blood clots have constantly been a theme on her page. That further discredits the validity of her claim which further makes me believe that this claim of Matthew Perry dying from the Covid-19 Vaccine is far from the truth

Comments

The Autopsy was performed by addiction specialist Scott Hadland according to KSBW8 News.

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Sources
- https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/15/arts/matthew-perry-cause-death-friends.html
- https://www.ksbw.com/article/addiction-specialist-gives-perspective-on-matthew-perry-autopsy-results/46166901#

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Your research on this topic is very well informing. You wanted to make sure you got all the facts, and dove deep into the internet to find the mainstream of all these sources used to make this initial claim. I also read on New York Times that while there were other complications do the death of Matthew Perry, the main cause was use of ketamine.

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When you say that her claim is invalid, you should dive deeper into the sources and claims she uses to disprove what she is saying now and in the past. Not just say that she has made this claim before. What if she was right about other claims? Prove that she isn't valid by explaining her lack of or use of unreliable sources.

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I agree with that because I took a look at "vikkifromjersey's" TikTok account myself. I specifically checked for videos about COVID, and I found a many videos where she looks to be very anti-vaxx. Also many of the videos make claims that can easily be shown to be untrue.

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If you are going to disagree with someone's claim you need to dig deeper into there sources and verify those sources to determine how they are using the information to make their point.

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I found the same article and I agree with all of your points. Honestly, all it took was a quick check of the TikTok profile to assume there was something off here. The content seemed inflammatory and completely fabricated.

Answer 3

The article does not appear to show anything about his struggle with the effects of the COVID-19 vaccine. He had many underlying conditions due to his prolonged drug usage from a young age. The article mentions that he died from ketamine and other drugs that were found in his autuopsy report.

Comments

reply to @Samc123
"The article does not appear to show anything about his struggle with the effects of the COVID-19 vaccine. He had many underlying conditions due to his prolonged drug usage from a young age. The article mentions that he died from ketamine and other drugs that were found in his autopsy report."

I agree, but you should clarify that Matthew was using ketamine to treat mental illness, as you can use Ketamine to treat severe depression. Perry had been undergoing ketamine therapy, not using it recreationally.  I think that is important to mention. He also had not received the treatment for over a week, so it couldn't have been possible the amount of ketamine in his system was left from his last treatment.

Source:
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/ketamine-for-treatment-resistant-depression-when-and-where-is-it-safe-202208092797

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/15/arts/matthew-perry-cause-death-friends.htmlSource:
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/ketamine-for-treatment-resistant-depression-when-and-where-is-it-safe-202208092797

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Your notes about things mentioned in the article do make sense in supporting why the claim is fake, but where did you find information about his underlying conditions from prolonged drug usage? You don't list or link where you found this information. Are those sources reliable?

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You have a good start going with this answer, but in order to support your claims I recommend attaching a link to the article and/or sources that you used to find this information, such as where you found the autopsy report information.

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Your answer is solid but your answer lacks concrete evidence from other sources to contradict the claim. I think some more research to go along with the answer would really enhance the quality.

Answer 4

After very surface-level amounts of digging, it is clear that this claim is false and trying to spread misinformation. After researching many trustworthy sites, it is clear that Perry died from the acute effects of Ketamine. This was while he was doing Ketamine therapy to treat his anxiety and depression. Not once do any of these articles mention the Covid-19 vaccine and its possible effects on Perry.

sources: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/arts/autopsy-report-shows-actor-matthew-perry-died-from-effects-of-ketamine

https://www.healthline.com/health/depression/ketamine-depression-treatment#takeaway

Answer 5

The tiktoker who posted the claim that Matthew Perry died from the Covid-19 vaccine 'vikkifromjersey'  was very clearly pushing a narrative about covid-19 vaccines being harmful. If you look up the direct autopsy from the LA County Medical Examiner which is the government website states that he died due to "acute effects of ketamine" which Perry used to treat depression and anxiety. He also was reported to be taking buprenorphine which is used to treat "opioid use disorder." However, we just know that he had drowned. We do not know exactly what caused him to drown because it could be symptoms of the ketamine therapy and or buprenorphine.

Sources:

https://me.lacounty.gov/2023/press-releases/cause-and-manner-of-death-determined-for-matthew-langford-perry/

https://www.tiktok.com/@vikkifromjersey?lang=en

Comments

I appreciate that you provided a claim that is very straight to the point, while being informational. For example, that you mentioned the two drugs that were found in his system, while also mentioning that the source you used was in fact a government source, which has no tolerance for falsity.

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I think you nailed it here by citing the original autopsy report from LA County. In my opinion, this is the primary source that people should use when speculating Perry's death. There is no tangible evidence that supports the theory of "heat activation" and the TikTok channel is attempting to spread disinformation.

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I totally agree that Tik Tokers push the agenda about whatever their own opinion is not factual information which can be misleading. Posting the link to the autopsy was very helpful as they are a reliable source. There is a lot of speculation on Matthew Perrys death and this was the straight to the point which was nice to read.

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I completely agree because Tik Tokers spread misinformation and push their own agendas by sharing opinions that may not be supported by facts. Since the autopsy is a trustworthy source, posting the link to it was highly beneficial. There is a lot of conjecture around Matthew Perry's passing, so it was good to read something that was concise.

Answer 6

This claim is false, and quite a stretch from the truth. I could not find any information or sources discussing the relation between the COVID 19 vaccination, and Matthew Perry's death. As provided by many news outlets and media sources, Matthew Perry passed due to drowning in his hot tub at his home, after a full autopsy, and testing. Further, according to the County of Los Angeles Medical Examiner website, Perry's death was determined as "the acute effects of ketamine." Additionally, sources such as the New York Times have spoken to the coroner's office, and released information regarding Perry's death, stating that "The coroner’s office said Matthew Perry had ketamine and the opioid buprenorphine in his system when he died." With that being said, there is very large reason to believe that this claim is false. 

https://me.lacounty.gov/2023/press-releases/cause-and-manner-of-death-determined-for-matthew-langford-perry/ 

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/15/arts/matthew-perry-cause-death-friends.html

Comments

This was a clear, concise fact check. I like that you used an official source, showing you went beyond just finding an article about his death.

Answer 7

I googled, "Matthew Perry died from covid vaccine" and every source that came up either said that these were social media claims or that these claims were nonsense. According to this Rolling Stones article, https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-features/matthew-perry-death-blamed-on-covid-19-vaccine-by-anti-vaxxers-1234865224/ law enforcement services confirm directly to Rolling Stones that Perry died from an "apparent drowning." Several prominent right-wing, anti-vax Twitter accounts blamed Perry's death on being vaccinated for COVID-19 before an official cause of death had been established by the police department. The author of this article is Marlow Stern who has worked in journalism for many years, has his master's in journalism from Columbia, and is a journalism professor at Columbia.  

Comments

I did the same Google search that you did and got the same results. All sources that I was able to find were untrustworthy and false claims. I think you did a good job of linking your article to back up your findings!

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I noticed the same thing during my research. All of the sources saying he died from the COVID vaccine were all coming from sources that were not reliable

Answer 8

After viewing the video, I visited "vikkifromjersey" on TikTok to see any additional content the user published. The content seems to be baseless claims, especially regarding COVID-19 and its vaccines. I found this NY Times article by Matt Stevens https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/15/arts/matthew-perry-cause-death-friends.html Stevens cites the genuine autopsy report as the article highlights the extreme levels of ketamine found in Perry's blood. I viewed the author's profile on the NYT website, and I found that he also previously wrote at the Los Angeles Times, where he is known for reporting on the drought in Southern California. Stevens also emphasizes the importance of ethical reporting: "Like all Times journalists, I am committed to upholding the standards of integrity outlined in our Ethical Journalism Handbook. I believe deeply in treating people fairly. That means approaching subjects without preconceptions, trying to give all parties the chance to be heard and being transparent about our reporting.."

With this evidence, I can safely assume that Stevens is ethical and trustworthy, whereas "vikkifromjersey" is just trying to gain internet clout. 

Answer 9

This claim is factually incorrect. According to Perry's autopsy report, the cause of his death was the "acute effects of ketamine" along with "Drowning, coronary artery disease and buprenorphine effects. Perry was using ketamine and buprenorphine to overcome his struggles with addiction. All of this is reported in this CBS News article: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/matthew-perry-cause-of-death-ketamine/

Comments

I appreciate that your information is correct and you share it consciously. I think this is inviting to a reader without a lot of time or care to read more. I think you could've examined the origination of this claim a little more such as the account that posted it or the motive behind the post to make your claim stronger. It helps back up your information that you have your source sited, but the more sources the better and more well researched your work will look!

Answer 10

The claim that “‘Friends’ star Matthew Perry died because of the Covid-19 vaccine” is false and misleading. Matthew Perry’s death was not deemed caused by or linked to the Covid-19 vaccine and spreading this kind of false information can give people misleading information that could lead to harm. The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner reported that the autopsy reported the usage of ketamine in Matthew Perry's system but mentioned nothing about the covid-19 vaccine. I researched the account that this post comes originates from, “vikkifromjersey”. After just a quick skim of her account I found that “vikkifromjersey” promotes herself online as a massive anti vaccination advocate. The user supplies minimal research and evidence with her posts and others should be wary of the information the account puts out. PBS published an article titled “Autopsy report shows actor Matthew Perry died from effects of ketamine” which shares the findings that Matthew Perry was using ketamine while in a hot tub which caused him to lose consciousness and drown. Because the medical examiner ruled the death of Matthew Perry as effects of ketamine, one can conclude that the covid-19 vaccine has no role in his death and that this is harmful misinformation being put out in the media for attention and to advocate for anti vaccination. I also found the claim of  Matthew Perry’s cause of death backed up in an article from the New York Times where author Stevens states the genuine autopsy report including extreme levels of ketamine found in Perry's blood. The claim that he died from the Covid-19 vaccine is false. 

Sources:

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/arts/autopsy-report-shows-actor-matthew-perry-died-from-effects-of-ketamine

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/arts/autopsy-report-shows-actor-matthew-perry-died-from-effects-of-ketamine

Comments

I think that you found a lot of good, valid sources to back up your findings! I found a lot of similar things when I was searching. During my searching I saw that there were no valid sources being found, it was only tweets and Instagram comments. These mostly came from far right-wing supporters and even candidates.