Courteney Cox is aware of her inclusion in Prince Harry’s autobiography, Spare. In a new interview with Variety released on Monday, the 58-year-old actress—referenced in the book—discussed the Duke of Sussex’s book for the first time.
Cox said she was “absolutely” not handing out the magic mushrooms that Harry, 38, said he ingested during a party at her home. Cox acknowledged that Harry, 38, stayed at her house unexpectedly when he visited Los Angeles a few years ago.
“He did stay here for a couple of days — probably two or three. He’s a nice person,” Cox told Variety. The Scream star also said she recently saw Prince Harry at a birthday party but didn’t get to say hello.
Cox acknowledged that even though she hasn’t read Spare yet, she knows Harry’s claim that he had used psychedelics at Cox’s house.
“I haven’t read the book. I do want to hear it because I’ve heard it’s entertaining. But yes, it’s gotten back to me about it,” she said, referencing the much-discussed passage. “I’m not saying there were mushrooms! I wasn’t passing them out.”
In his New Year’s bestseller, Prince Harry admitted that he is a “Friends fan” and that watching the popular NBC comedy helped him deal with panic attacks after returning from his second tour in Afghanistan ten years ago. Harry claimed in Spare that after returning to London, he started to avoid crowds and photographers because of his anxiety.
“Day after day, night after night, I sat around eating takeaway, watching 24. Or Friends. I might’ve watched every episode of Friends in 2013. I decided I was a Chandler,” he said.
Two years later, the Duke of Sussex claimed it was surreal to meet Cox in person and that attending a reception at her house was similarly surreal. In January 2016, Prince Harry and two companions visited Los Angeles, where they partied for a few days and visited Cox’s residence.
“We went from the home of [my friend] Thomas’ girlfriend to the home of Courteney Cox. She was a friend of Thomas’ girlfriend and had more room. Also, she was traveling on a job and didn’t mind if we crashed at her place,” Harry wrote.
“No complaints from me. As a Friends fanatic, the idea of crashing at Monica’s was highly appealing. And amusing. But then… Courteney turned up. I was baffled. Was her job canceled? I didn’t think it was my place to ask. More: Does this mean we have to leave?”
“She smiled. Of course not, Harry. Plenty of room,” he recalled. “Great. But I was still confused because… she was Monica. And I was a Chandler. I wondered if I’d ever work up the courage to tell her. Was there enough tequila in California to get me that brave?”
Harry claims Cox invited a few more people, and a new party started. The son of King Charles III, who was referring to Will Arnett, expressed his excitement at meeting the actor from the “Batman LEGO movie” and his amusement at having “the voice” performed for him.
“He then led my friend and me to the refrigerator, where he removed a soft drink, perhaps to get rid of us. We noticed a sizable box of Black Diamond Mushroom Chocolates when the door was open, “Harry penned.
“These are for everyone, someone in the row behind me said. Boys, help yourselves. My partner and I took a few, devoured them, and then downed them with tequila.”
After that, the mushrooms began to appear, so Prince Harry and his companion went outdoors to sit by a fire pit. Shortly after returning to use the restroom, Harry claimed he was startled when he started seeing creatures.
“Besides the toilet was a round silver bin with a foot pedal to open the lid. I started at the bin. It started back. What — staring? I stepped on the pedal. A huge open grin,” he wrote. “Now the loo became a head too. The bowl was gaping at me, and the seat’s hinges were its piercing silver eyes. It said: Aaah.”
Harry claimed that after running into his friend, who he had taken the mushrooms with, he emerged “giggling in the lavatory.” The friend later revealed to Harry that he had a frightening experience in the bathroom where his puffer jacket changed into a “dragon” and scared him.
“My delightful trip had been his hell,” Harry wrote in Spare. “How delightful. How interesting. I led him outside gently and told him it would all be OK.”
Just a few weeks ago, Cox and Prince Harry came into contact once more. Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, and Cox were among the guests present for Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi’s unexpected vow renewal on January 31.
Thought to be a celebration of de Rossi’s 50th birthday, the modest gathering at DeGeneres and de Rossi’s house was a vow renewal for the pair, who wed in August 2008. Kris Jenner presided over the wedding, while Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Aniston, Carol Burnett, Melissa Etheridge, Katy Perry, and Orlando Bloom were all present.
