Matthew Perry Death Conspiracy Theorists Want to Know the Meaning Behind “Mattman”
Published Oct. 31 2023, 11:17 a.m. ET
When Friends star Matthew Perry passed away, throngs of folks who enjoyed watching the show expressed their shock and sadness upon learning that the years of alcohol and substance abuse he partook in may have ultimately resulted in his passing.
A series of social media posts uploaded by the star, like the #Mattman hashtag, however, has culminated in some inquiries from folks online, searching for a deeper meaning.
While the star's cause of death was ultimately ruled as "deferred" following his autopsy findings, The Hollywood Reporter noted that a representative from the medical examiner's office in charge of looking into Perry's passing didn't appear to be ruling out Perry's history with substance abuse as a potential cause of death: "You can’t have a drug problem for 30 years and then expect to have it solved in 28 days."
Matthew Perry death conspiracy: What is the meaning behind the term "Mattman?"
A number of social media users have been uploading TikToks and posts online questioning the meaning behind a recurring phrase Perry uploaded in several of his final social media posts: Mattman.
Perry appears to have had a fixation on the Batman character, a fictional character who was revered for avenging the cold-blooded murder of his parents by utilizing their great fortune to dedicate himself to a life of fighting crime as a vigilante.
As the TikTok account Strange Sauna pointed out, Perry's Instagram posts showed him fixating on bat signals, a cinema room with multiple screens display the key art for the latest Batman movie starring Robert Pattinson, even highlighting a projected red image of a Batman symbol, with Perry assuring followers in a caption to rest easy as he's "got the city tonight."
Did Matthew Perry eat baneberries? Or cranberries?
Another one of Perry's posts that's got people talking following his death is a cryptic video of a hand, one that Strange Sauna says doesn't look like it belongs to Perry's, placing three berries on a table.
The Friends actor's caption for the video states that he ate three of those berries that day, and some people thought that this was a reference to the death of Cranberries singer Dolores O'Riordan's own passing — a strange premonition as she died due to drowning as well.
However, other folks have speculated that the berries uploaded to Perry's social media account weren't actually cranberries, but the poisonous baneberries, and that Perry may have ingested the berries with the intent to harm himself.
According to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, ingesting baneberries could prove fatal to humans: "The entire plant is toxic but the roots and berries are the most poisonous. The cardiogenic toxins have not been identified. When ingested, the berries have an almost immediate sedative effect on the human heart and can lead to cardiac arrest if enough are consumed."
Some folks online are linking Matthew Perry's death to the Jeffrey Epstein case.
Epstein, who was mysteriously found dead in his prison cell and has been linked to notable celebrities, rich and powerful public figures, and politicians, along with human trafficking and child sex rings, is now being brought up in conversations surrounding Perry's death.
Some are speculating that the Mattman reference is one that Perry was making about exposing people in the industry about their connection to Epstein and that he ended up dead as a result.