'Friends' star Matthew Perry's death exposed secret double life of ‘Ketamine Queen’: pal
Nicole Russo said she is still haunted by the fact that Jasveen Sangha was secretly living a double life as the "Ketamine Queen."
On April 8, a federal judge sentenced the North Hollywood drug dealer to 15 years in prison after she pleaded guilty to selling the ketamine that killed Matthew Perry in 2023. Russo, who was friends with the 42-year-old socialite, spoke out on Investigation Discovery’s series "Hollywood Demons" in the episode "Doctor Feelgoods."
"I feel betrayed," Russo told Fox News Digital. "We’re talking about someone who was a friend of mine. I didn’t know the other side of what was going on — the dealing. And so many lives were affected. She was living two lives. There was a duality to her, I guess, a hidden aspect to her life. She kept that side hidden. She may have opened up to somebody else. She definitely did not open up to me."
'KETAMINE QUEEN' JASVEEN SANGHA SENTENCED TO 15 YEARS IN PRISON FOR ROLE IN MATTHEW PERRY'S DEATH
Russo said she first met Sangha around 2011 through mutual friends. Russo’s family was involved in the music industry and the "concert business," so she crossed paths with Sangha at festivals.
"I remember she was very sweet, young and bubbly," Russo said. "I instantly loved her. I felt she was more mature compared to the other girls, so she stood out. She wanted to be seen, but that’s what pretty girls do. She wanted to be liked. She knew all the guys from the events. And I guess we all want to fit somewhere, right? But we connected because we both had dual cultures. I’m Italian American, and she’s Indian British American. We often spoke about our families. We just clicked."
Russo said Sangha never discussed drugs or openly used them.
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"I wouldn’t have been so friendly if I had seen her in a situation where she was all drugged out," Russo said. "She wanted to get noticed by the guys, cozy up to them and go to the hip parties, but nothing was ever drug-related. Of course, there was drinking. Drinks go hand in hand at these events. There are always guys buying drinks or girls getting free drinks, things like that. But even then, I never saw her wasted. Now, I wasn’t there sitting and looking at everything everyone did, but she didn’t push that vibe to me."
Over the years, Russo said she noticed Sangha began wearing more expensive clothing, though she didn’t think much of it at the time.
"I just saw her as a young girl becoming a woman," said Russo.
The women reconnected shortly before Sangha’s arrest, sharing a glass of wine at Russo’s home and catching up about their families. By all appearances, it was a normal evening — nothing seemed unusual.
"I remember saying how I saw some professional photos she had done recently and how she looked really good," Russo recalled. "Not long after that, the scandal broke and everything went to pieces."
Perry, whose role as Chandler Bing on the sitcom "Friends" in the 1990s and 2000s made him one of the biggest TV stars of the era, was found dead in a hot tub at his Los Angeles home in October 2023. He was 54. The medical examiner ruled ketamine, typically used as a surgical anesthetic, was the primary cause of death, and drowning was a secondary cause.
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In recent years, ketamine has seen a surge as a treatment for depression, anxiety and pain, The Associated Press reported. While the drug isn’t approved for those conditions, doctors are free to prescribe drugs for so-called off-label uses, the outlet reported.
In Perry’s case, he was using it to treat depression. The star was receiving ketamine infusion therapy from his physicians, but prosecutors said the actor turned to other sources when his doctors refused to give him additional doses.
"I didn’t even know what ketamine was, let alone how to say it," said Russo.
Russo said she innocently commented on an Instagram photo of Sangha and her mother, only to be blindsided by a wave of online "attacks" from strangers soon after. Confused when people started mentioning Perry, she searched Sangha’s name online and discovered Sangha had been arrested.
Prosecutors said Perry obtained ketamine illicitly through a network that included two doctors, his assistant and a woman they dubbed the "Ketamine Queen." That woman was Sangha.
Perry’s assistant, who pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death, injected the actor with ketamine several times, including on the day he died.
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"I wanted to scream out," said Russo. "I just kept saying to myself, ‘This is not the Jasveen I know.’ She must have gone the wrong way to make an easy buck. I don’t know what her thinking was. I certainly don’t condone it. But my first reaction was shock. It felt like I lost someone to death."
"I then got mad," Russo continued. "She threw her life away. I had no idea she was involved with drugs. How could she have partaken in a situation that caused someone’s death? There are different ways to be an entrepreneur."
"I never expected her to be famous for something like this," Russo added.
Perry’s search for more ketamine than his doctor would give him led him to Dr. Salvador Plasencia, who admitted to illegally selling Perry ketamine. He was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison. Days before his death, Perry also connected with Sangha in a $6,000 cash buy that included the lethal dose, The Associated Press reported.
Another doctor who admitted providing Plasencia the ketamine he sold to Perry was sentenced to eight months of home detention.
Prosecutors described Sangha as a "Ketamine Queen" who operated an elaborate drug network catering to high-end clients to support a jet-setting lifestyle. "Hollywood Demons" detailed how Sangha received a text from Kimberly McLaury, the sister of one of her customers, 33-year-old Cody McLaury, who died in 2019.
"Had you stopped selling ketamine when I texted you, we wouldn’t be here today," McLaury later said in court.
Perry’s stepmother, Debbie Perry, also told Sangha in court that she had caused pain for "hundreds, maybe thousands" of people.
Keith Morrison, Perry’s stepfather and correspondent for NBC’s "Dateline," told the judge that he and Perry’s mother, Suzanne, feel a "daily, grinding sadness and sorrow."
"There was a spark to that man I have never seen anywhere else," Morrison said. "He should have had another act. Two more acts."
Just before she was sentenced, Sangha told the judge she wears her shame "like a jacket."
"These were not mistakes. They were horrible decisions," Sangha said, which "shattered people’s lives and the lives of their family and friends."
Today, Russo said she still wonders how Sangha is coping behind bars — and what unraveling behind closed doors led her down this path.
"Nobody won here," Russo said. "I didn’t know about Matthew Perry’s struggles with addiction. Here was a guy who, from the outside, had everything. And Jasveen had her whole life ahead of her but somehow got wrapped up in this. They both came from good, caring families. You just wonder what brings a person to such extremes."