Matthew Perry has since vowed to remove Keanu Reeves’s name from his memoir.
The “Friends” actor caused a stir when he questioned why the “John Wick” star was still alive, while some of his famous friends had passed away in his book “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing”.
Later admitted he had chosen a “random name” and never meant anything personal.
Now Perry has vowed to ensure any reprints and future editions of the tome will have the unkind comments removed.
The Los Angeles Times newspaper said the 53-year-old actor claimed during a panel discussion at its Festival of Books over the weekend: “I said a stupid thing… It was a mean thing to do.
“I pulled his name because I live on the same street.
“I’ve apologised publicly to him (Reeves). Any future versions of the book will not have his name in it."
The 53-year-old actor admitted he was “stupid” to use Reeves’s name and promised to apologise in person, if he got the opportunity.
Said Perry: “If I run into the guy, I’ll apologise. It was just stupid.”
He made the remark about Reeves while discussing their mutual friend River Phoenix, who died in 1993 of a drug overdose aged just 23.
The “Friends” actor formed a bond with Phoenix after he made his feature film debut opposite him in the 1988 movie, “A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon.”
Perry said about Phoenix in his memoir: “River was a beautiful man inside and out and too beautiful for this world, it turned out. It always seems to be the really talented guys who go down.”
He also took a swipe at the “Speed” actor while mentioning the death of his late comedian friend Chris Farley, who died in 1997 aged 33, after a drug overdose.
He said: “I punched a hole through Jennifer Aniston’s dressing room wall when I found out (Chris had died)” – before adding: “Keanu Reeves walks among us.”
He later apologised for his comments and insisted he was a "big fan" of the 56-year-old star.
He told People magazine: “I’m actually a big fan of Keanu. I just chose a random name, my mistake. I apologise. I should have used my own name instead.”