Matthew Perry had 'many enablers' during rehab battle with addiction

A source who attended Alcoholics Anonymous meetings with Matthew Perry said the actor "had a lot of enablers" as he battled addiction before his death at 54.

The New York Post reported the peer felt Perry bristled at accountability. "He couldn't stand being challenged...wasn't able to deal with the tough love" of AA, said the source.

Perry was "an ordinary addict" but his fame placed him "in a golden cage," according to the source. Well-meaning help could sometimes enable addiction, they noted.

"I feel for him, but in my 25 years experience, sometimes ‘helping’ someone is really enabling ... he was in a golden cage."

Perry was found dead in his Los Angeles home on October 28 from combined drug intoxication. His autopsy revealed "high levels" of ketamine, an anesthetic, which medical experts said likely caused respiratory failure when mingled with other substances in his system. Ketamine therapy is for mental health but toxic levels weeks later defy that explanation.

Ketamine can induce unconsciousness at surgical doses found in Perry's autopsy. Buprenorphine and coronary artery disease also contributed, experts said.