The Diplomat’s Allison Janney Reveals the Unexpected Way Matthew Perry Helped Her
The Diplomat star Allison Janney recalls how Matthew Perry checked her on a habit—a tough-love moment she cherishes—and opens up about her own ketamine use, the same drug that later factored into the Friends star’s death.
Allison Janney popped up on Monica Lewinsky's podcast this week and told a very Matthew Perry story: quick, razor-sharp, and lightly mortifying in the best way. She also talked about her own ketamine therapy and how Perry's death — tied to that same drug — complicated something that had been working for her.
The moment with Perry that stuck
Janney, who worked with Perry on Mr. Sunshine and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, says he once clocked her for a habit she has when she gets nervous: mumbling and bailing on a sentence halfway through. She was intimidated because, well, he was very, very funny — and he noticed.
'Allison, did you even hear what you just said?'
'Matthew, I get your point.'
Classic Perry: cut through the noise, deliver the punchline, leave you laughing and a little bit better at your job. Janney remembered it fondly, and you can hear the admiration in the way she tells it.
The ketamine conversation
Janney also opened up about using ketamine as part of her therapy. She says it has been going well for her — but Perry's death, which involved ketamine, made that incredibly hard to process. It's a hard emotional contradiction: something that helps you personally is also tied to the loss of someone you cared about and respected. She mourned him on the show and was candid about the weight of that.
Quick context
- Podcast: Reclaiming with Monica Lewinsky (episode dropped Tuesday)
- Shared credits: Mr. Sunshine; Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
- Janney: The West Wing alum, currently on Netflix's The Diplomat
- Perry: Died due to ketamine; authorities have since charged five people in connection with his death
Janney's story is a small, sharp snapshot of who Perry was on a set: funny enough to rattle you, generous enough to make you better, and still missed.