Very sad news over the weekend with the death of the incredibly talented and funny Matthew Perry, whose life and career and had been fraught by years of alcoholism and drug addiction. It also resulted in numerous health issues including a 5-month stint in hospital in 2018 after his colon burst due to opioid use.

So you’d think the guy might’ve known a thing or two about addiction, which is why it’s quite fascinating to watch this exchange between him and Peter Hitchens in 2013. Hitchens writes off the concept of “addiction” completely, which Perry takes objection to:

Matthew Perry debating the topic of addiction with a dismissive Peter Hitchens in 2013 pic.twitter.com/LdtU8NE4p6

— Jay (@JibbaJabb) October 29, 2023

Well, I’m not an expert on the subject, but I’m pretty sure most if not all medical professionals would side with Matthew Perry on this one. Addiction is an illness, not some kind of moral failing which is what Hitchens seems to think. But then he’s so far up in own a*se that of course he’s going to think that, isn’t he?

In any case, it sounds like Perry was sober when he passed away aged 52 on Saturday night. Apparently he had been playing tennis for two hours before getting into his jacuzzi, where he suffered a cardiac event and drowned. I’m sure more details will be forthcoming this week, but you have to wonder how much his years of addiction contributed to his death in end. RIP to an absolute legend of the game.

As for Peter Hitchens, it was just the other week where he stormed off an interview because the host kept annoying him with questions about marijuana.