Matthew Perry's Assistant Claims He Couldn't Say No to the Actor

When you work for someone, there’s an unspoken hierarchy—a power dynamic that doesn’t always make it easy to push back, even when you should. That’s the central argument Kenneth Iwamasa is now making to the court as he faces sentencing on May 27 for his role in Matthew Perry’s death.

According to court documents obtained by TMZ, Kenneth, who served as Perry’s assistant, is asking for leniency by arguing that he couldn’t“simply say no”when the“Friends”star requested ketamine. This distinction matters. While prosecutors have claimed Kenneth could have refused Perry’s requests, his legal team counters that this rhetoric ignores the“particular vulnerability to the relationship dynamic which he fell into with the victim.”

Let’s be clear about what happened: Matthew Perry died on October 28, 2023, from the acute effects of ketamine. Kenneth secured the drug for him and even injected him with it on the day he died. That’s not a minor detail. But Kenneth’s filing suggests something more complicated than simple willing participation—he’s characterizing his actions as those of an employee who“acted at all relevant times at [Matthew’s] direction rather than pursuant to his own discretion.”

His lawyer added another layer, noting that while Kenneth’s employment relationship with Perry may have“enabled him to more readily participate in the conspiracy to distribute drugs to the victim than a man on the street,”there were actually“a number of proverbial men on the street”involved in the same conspiracy. In other words: Kenneth wasn’t alone in this.

Kenneth ultimately acknowledged in his filing that he“could not‘simply say no'”and that“[t]hat inability had tragic consequences.”Meanwhile, Matthew Perry’s mother and sister have submitted emotional letters to the court describing how Kenneth broke the actor’s trust and enabled his drug habits. The sentencing hearing will reveal whether the judge sees Kenneth as a victim of circumstance caught in a toxic power dynamic, or as someone who made choices—however difficult—that led to tragedy.