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Kenneth Iwamasa, the live-in personal assistant of actor Matthew Perry, was sentenced to 41 months in prison on Wednesday for his role in the 'Friends' star's death from a ketamine overdose. The sentencing, delivered by Judge Sherilyn Garnett in a Los Angeles federal courtroom, brings to a close the prosecution of five individuals who admitted to playing roles in Perry's death, which occurred in October 2023.

Iwamasa, 60, pleaded guilty in August 2024 to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death. He was also sentenced to two years of supervised release and fined $10,000, according to multiple reports. He is scheduled to report to prison on July 17.

Perry, best known for his role as Chandler Bing on the iconic sitcom 'Friends,' was found dead in his backyard hot tub in Los Angeles on October 28, 2023. An autopsy concluded he died from the "acute effects of ketamine," which led to loss of consciousness and drowning.

Coverage comparison

Reports from ABC Australia, Al Jazeera, BBC, South China Morning Post, and The Hindu widely covered the sentencing, with most outlets highlighting Iwamasa's central role in Perry's descent into ketamine addiction. While the tone across many reports was neutral, ABC Australia and The Hindu adopted a more critical stance, using language such as "enabler" and "monster" to describe Iwamasa's actions. In contrast, Al Jazeera and BBC maintained a more objective tone, focusing on the facts of the case and the legal proceedings.

Key claims

  • Iwamasa injected Perry with ketamine at the actor's request on the day of his death, before leaving to run errands; Perry was found dead when Iwamasa returned, according to court testimony reported by multiple outlets.
  • Prosecutors alleged that Iwamasa worked with two doctors to provide Perry with more than $50,000 worth of ketamine in the weeks leading up to his death, as reported by BBC and other sources.
  • Perry's family blamed Iwamasa for the actor's death, stating in letters to the judge that they trusted Iwamasa to help Perry maintain sobriety but instead he enabled his addiction, according to ABC Australia and The Hindu.
  • The sentencing of Iwamasa concluded the legal cases against five defendants, including the so-called "Ketamine Queen" Jasveen Sangha, who received a 15-year prison sentence, and Dr. Salvador Plasencia, who was sentenced to 30 months, as reported by multiple sources.

Perspectives

In court, Iwamasa expressed remorse, saying, "I am so sorry to all of you. I'm just so sorry to have done illegal acts I will forever regret. I will take that to my grave." His lawyer, Alan Eisner, argued that Iwamasa's loyalty to Perry was paramount and that he was unable to say no to his employer. The judge, however, pointed to Iwamasa's knowledge of Perry's addiction struggles and his concealment of evidence after the actor's death as factors in the sentence. Perry's family, in letters read during the hearing, expressed no sympathy for Iwamasa, with Perry's mother, Suzanne Morrison, writing, "We trusted a man without a conscience, and my son paid the price."