Ozzy Osbourne has revealed in his posthumous memoir that he let Matthew Perry attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings at his Los Angeles home.
The Black Sabbath frontman, who passed away aged 76 on July 22, said the late Friends star ‘gave everything to stay clean’ as he battled addiction.
Matthew was found dead in his jacuzzi on October 29, 2023, at the age of 54 after he shared details of his struggles to dissuade others from following a similar path.
In an extract from his book, Last Rites, Ozzy said the actor would ‘come to our house for AA meetings, or so my wife tells me.’
He wrote: ‘He was the funniest, most talented bloke. And he was trying so hard.’
The rocker reflected on the sadness he felt upon hearing that Matthew, who had played the role of Chandler Bing in the popular comedy, had passed away.
Ozzy Osbourne has revealed in his posthumous memoir that he let Matthew Perry attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings at his Los Angeles home
The Black Sabbath frontman, who passed away aged 76 on July 22, said the late Friends star ‘gave everything to stay clean’ as he battled addiction
Ozzy added: ‘Then one day he listened to his addiction telling him it was ok to get loaded, and that was it – game over. He’d given everything to stay clean. But it wasn’t enough.’
The Prince of Darkness detailed how he thought about using a ketamine treatment, similar to the one Matthew got hooked on, in an attempt to combat his own addictions but the experience put him off from taking the drug completely.
Ozzy recalled: ‘They started me on this tiny dose. A microdose, they call it. But the second I felt it kick in – a very small but unmistakable altering of the mind – I was like, “Oh, yeah, I could have some serious fun with this.”‘
He said that he walked out of the clinic and said to himself he would never let addiction ‘steal my spirit from me again.’
In 2012 Ozzy admitted he attended 90 AA meetings in as many days in West Hollywood as he worked on getting back to being sober.
Speaking on his Madhouse Chronicles podcast in October last year, he said he had gone back to smoking marijuana and was ‘tempted to return to stronger drugs’ because of his health woes.
In his last months, Ozzy struggled with his Parkinson’s disease as well as problems with his neck and back and relied on a wheelchair and crutches.
He explained: ‘I am happier, but I am not completely sober. I use a bit of marijuana from time to time.’
In an extract from his book, Last Rites, Ozzy said the actor would ‘come to our house for AA meetings, or so my wife tells me’ (Ozzy and wife Sharon pictured together in 2017)
Ozzy wrote: ‘Then one day he listened to his addiction telling him it was ok to get loaded, and that was it – game over. He’d given everything to stay clean. But it wasn’t enough’
The Prince of Darkness praised his wife, 71, for being his constant motivation to keep him from swaying back to his old habits, but cannabis, which is legal in LA, has slowly crept back into his life.
‘I am lucky my wife kicks my butt all the time and she would make life so difficult,’ he said. ‘Even with marijuana she will f***ing find it and get rid of it.’
On the podcast, Ozzy also revealed how he tried enough ketamine ‘to spark him’ after he was offered the medical sleep drug at a surgery.
‘I went to a doctor recently and started to have this ketamine,’ he explained.
‘He put a tiny bit in me, but that was enough to spark me. That thing came back and weighted my brain.’
He confessed that while he stopped attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, he now questions if that was the correct decision.
He said: ‘If you are out there and you are using dope and you want to get off, there is plenty of help.
‘AA is a 12-step programme. It got me sorted out to a certain degree. I do not go to meetings myself anymore. Maybe I should do, I don’t know.’
Ozzy, who has spoken openly about his addiction issues, felt that many rock stars and musicians that use the California approach of ‘micro dosing’ drugs are risking their lives. He said micro-dosing would not work for him.
The rock and roll legend admitted that during the height of his fame in the 1970s, he felt he could not ‘do a thing creatively sober’.
‘I was the king of the world, a rock star and I had the biggest party ever. The thing is, I never thought I could do a f***ing thing of creativity (if I was sober).’
Ozzy once admitted he felt like he should have died years before some of his late ‘drinking buddies’ following a battle with booze and drugs.
He discussed how he feels about outliving his friends, including Motorhead star Lemmy and UFO bass player Pete Way, who he performed with in the eighties.
He said: ‘I’ve been doing a lot of reflection while I’ve been laid up, and all my drinking partners, I’ve realised they’re all f*ing dead.
‘I should have been dead before loads of them. Why am I the last man standing? Sometimes I look in the mirror and go, ‘Why the f*k did you make it?’.
‘I should have been dead a thousand times. I’ve had my stomach pumped God knows how many times.’
News of Ozzy’s death sparked an outpouring of tributes from fans in the music world and showbiz industry alike. His funeral on July 30 was attended by his family and rock royalty
Official documents listed three causes of death including cardiac arrest, acute myocardial infarction and coronary artery disease, and Parkinson’s disease with autonomic dysfunction
News of Ozzy’s death this summer sparked an outpouring of tributes from fans in the music world and showbiz industry alike.
His funeral on July 30 was attended by his family and a host of rock royalty.
Sharon and their children were joined by stars including Marilyn Manson and Ozzy’s lead guitarist Zakk Wylde during the event at the family’s 250-acre estate near Gerrards Cross.
Official documents listed three causes of death for the rock legend. This included an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, acute myocardial infarction and coronary artery disease, and Parkinson’s disease with autonomic dysfunction.
In a statement shared in July, Ozzy’s family said he died ‘surrounded by love’, adding: ‘It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning.’
