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Tyler Perry defended his popular Madea character against Spike Lee’s longtime criticism that it promoted negative stereotypes, saying that he “honours the people who made me who I am.”
The Emmy Award winner joined Chris Wallace on his new HBO Max show, which ended Friday, to discuss his widely popular series Madea when the host asked about Lee’s previous criticisms.
Controversially, in 2009 the filmmaker called the project “coonery buffoonery” and that it reinforced the negative stereotypes of the black community.
“For me, I’ve enjoyed the movies I’ve made,” Perry, 53, told Wallace. “Because they are the people I grew up with, whom I represent.”
He remembered being taken to the projects with his mom every weekend so she could play cards with other women.
“Most of them haven’t had a 12-year education,” he said. “But their stories and how much they loved each other, and if they got sad about something and someone else would come in and make a joke – I’m five years old, I’m standing on the floor with my matchboxes, I’m in a master class for my life.’
“So when someone says, ‘You’re reaching back to a point in our lives that we don’t want to talk about or that we don’t want the world to see,’ you are rejecting the stories of millions and millions of black people.”
Tyler Perry defended his popular Madea character, saying that he “honours the people who made me who I am.” He also said he believes the series “resonates” with a lot of people because they “know these women in these experiences and Uncle Joe and so on and so forth.”
The Emmy Award winner joined Chris Wallace on his new HBO Max show, which ended Friday, to discuss his widely popular series Madea
He went on to say that he thought the series “resonates” with a lot of people because they “know these women in these experiences and Uncle Joe and so on and so forth.”
“What’s important to me is that I honor the people who came to me and taught me and made me who I am,” he told Wallace.
Perry also discussed the abuse he suffered at the hands of his father and how that was related to successfully creating a $1 billion brand.
“My father often sent me a message through my brother a few years ago that said, ‘If I hit you in the ass again, you’d be Barack Obama, which means he thinks his abuse has brought me success.’ said the billionaire. said on the show.
“But he totally denies my mother’s love. And my mother’s love brought me here. It wasn’t the abuse. It wasn’t the anger and the rage. It was her love that brought me to this place.’
Perry told People in 2019 that his abusive, alcoholic father once beat him with a vacuum so badly that it could have ripped off his skin.
“I don’t think I ever felt safe or protected as a kid,” he told People.
He also admitted that three different family acquittals also raped him when he was 10 years old.
Spike Lee had previously called the series “coonery buffoonery” and said it reinforced negative stereotypes of the black community (Photo: Perry as Madea)
The high school dropout has since found forgiveness towards his father, saying it was a “weight” that fell off him and that “prayer” helped him get there.
‘[It took] a huge amount of prayers, but the main thing that helped me understand is that i held on to what i was holding didn’t hurt him…but it killed me,” he told People.
“I’m telling you, the change and forgiveness in me left me raw because it was a weight inside. I have chosen to be as positive and inspiring as possible, because I don’t want to feel that again.’
His positivity would eventually lead him to let the Duke and Duchess of Sussex live with him while they were going through a “very difficult time”.
Perry revealed that he had offered his $18 million Beverly Hills home to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to use as their personal residence after they left the monarchy and moved to the US two years ago.
In 2020, after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced they were retiring from their royal duties and moving to California, the couple, along with their then-one-year-old son, Archie, lived in Tyler’s Beverly Hills mansion for a few months — before building their own. sprawling $14.65 million estate in Montecito, California.
The comedian said he offered help to the couple, insisting it was a “very difficult time for them” and that he wanted to “support” them in every way he could.
The filmmaker added that he was inspired by Harry and Meghan’s love, telling the Today show earlier this week: ‘What I know about the two of them — and I wish the world knew — how much these two people love each other.’
“They found each other, out of all these chances by the time they found each other, they found each other,” he said. “The love they have is very, very moving and I wanted to do everything to support them.”
He added of Meghan and Harry’s relationship: “If I don’t have that, which she and Harry have, I don’t want it. That’s really great.’
He recently opened up about why he allowed Prince Harry and Megan Markle to live in his $18 million Beverly Hills home when they first moved to America, saying he wants the love they have.
During a recent interview with the cutMeghan, 41, spoke about her bond with Tyler, explaining that he contacted her after she first married Harry, 38, in 2018.
She explained that he had told her he was praying for her and that he “understood” the intense pressure she was under.
According to Meghan, Tyler also told her that if she ever needed advice, she could reach him — so she did.
She soon began to open up to him about her struggles and the two became close, despite never having met in person.
“Sometimes you can tell your life story to a stranger on an airplane, unlike some people closest to you,” she told The Cut.
According to the outlet, Tyler offering his home to the couple “became in many ways the reason Meghan and Harry started their new lives in Southern California.”