Source: John Nacion / Getty / Tyler Perry
Tyler Perry wants the world to know he doesn’t care about your criticisms of his films and will not change his formula for making them.
Please make no mistake. Tyler Perry has helped many Black actors find work in Hollywood thanks to his television series and films, and people appreciate him for that, but that doesn’t mean he is above criticism.
Following the release of his latest project, Divorce In The Black, starring Meagan Good and Cory Hardrict, which has earned the rare honor of earning a big fat 0% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes while maintaining a 75% audience score, fans have once again called into question Perry’s writing.
For the most part, the director/actor has ignored the critiques about his projects, but during an appearance on the “Baby, This Is Keke Palmer” podcast, he let the chopper spray.
Tyler Perry Defends His Films
“I know for a fact that what I’m doing is exactly what I’m supposed to be doing,” Perry told Palmer.
He continued, “Because for everyone who is a critic, I have thousands of — used to be — emails from people saying, ‘This changed my life. Oh my God, you know me. Oh my God, you saw me. How did you know this about my life and my family?’ That is what is important.”
He let the “highbrow negroes” who critique his projects have it and let it be known he makes his movies for “a large portion of my fans” who are “disenfranchised. Who cannot get in the Volvo and go to therapy on the weekend,”
“So, you’ve got this highbrow Negro who is all up in the air with his nose up looking at everything, then you got people like where I come from, and me, who are grinders, who really know what it’s like, whose mothers were caregivers for white kids, and were maids, housekeepers…beauticians. Don’t discount these people and say that their stories don’t matter. Who are you to be able to say which Black story is important or should be told? Get out of here with that bullshit.”
Social Media Claps Back At Tyler Perry
As expected, users on X, formerly Twitter, didn’t care for Perry’s thoughts on their critiques of his lackluster films.
“How dare these highbrow negroes criticize me, a man who cares so much about the working class that I no longer work with the union that helps struggling writers stay afloat in the entertainment industry,” one user on X wrote in response to Perry’s comments.
Journalist Jerry L. Barrow added, “He’s totally missing and/or dismissing the actual criticism, which is the WRITING, not the topics or the audience. Good writing isn’t about class.
Tyler Perry’s writing and films have been the topic of discussion for years. Shows like The Boondocks and Atlanta each dedicate an entire episode to calling him out.
Loni Love, former co-host of The Talk and comedian, blasted Perry for the poor quality of his films, saying he needs to hire more Black writers in response to film critics’ unanimous pannement of Divorce in the Black.
You can see more reactions in the gallery below.