I Love Me Some Tyler Perry

"Perry made $125 million last year and "earned more than Jennifer Aniston, Tom Cruise and Bon Jovi combined," according to Forbes."

I cannot and I will not lie. I love me some Tyler Perry and no not in that way I used to love New Kids on the Block when I was 10 (and still do at 29) but in a "I'm so proud of you, and keep doing what you're doing" kind of way.
He has the perfect Hollywood story, grew up poor, defeated all obstacles, knew he could do it, and came out successful, rich and blessed in more ways than one.

And blessed he is, and he never forgets it. Tyler writes, directs, produces, sometimes stars and does the music for his movie and TV projects. TBS recently bought his cable TV show House of Payne for $200 million and he raked in over $125 million alone last year. On top of that he still has the time to personally write his newsletter to his fans and sends them out when he gets a moment in his schedule, thanking us for supporting him or telling us a story of a troubled time he went through and encouraged us to keep the faith through all times. Sometimes Tyler's words of wisdom speak such volumes I find them coming at a time when I really needed to hear it and pass it on to someone who I know can benefit from a regular guy not yet phased by the success and wealth he's worked hard to attain. If Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt or Denzel does this for their fans then drop me a line I'd like to know.

I got a Tyler newsletter this morning as usual he was thankful for the people who had gone to see The Family That Preys, and went on to encourage people to register to vote, because McCain claims the economy is doing great in the US, yet if that is the case why did he have to load three trucks full of food and supplies in Atlanta Georgia. It's hardly a war torn country, or a country located in the Third World, a continent run by the world's superpower and a First World country.

He continues, to be humble, he continues to help and he continues to inspire. And it really makes me wonder why so many people seem to have a problem with him and what he's doing? I hear more negatives relating to Tyler Perry than I do positive, but bring up R.Kelly or the late Tupac Shakur and nothing but praise for those who have lived their lives publicly less than a third of the way Perry has. It's quite funny that on the Ebony website right next to the feature of Tyler Perry who graces the cover this month, was the question "TWO SIDES: After The Verdict, Should We Continue To Support R. Kelly?" No the hell we should not, but that's another blog post entirely.

In this decade, Tyler's films are a breath of fresh air, and no they are not all the same type of Madea laced movies. Daddy's Little Girls and Why Did I Get Married were dramas compared to Perry's first 2 Madea comedy instalments. But back to the breath of fresh air point I was trying to mention. In the 90's I had my first movie experience of black cinema and one I will never forget was New Jack City. When you are 11 years old and live in the UK and you see the like of Nino Brown and his crew killing people in the streets and drug running, those are scary images. To me now it's tame and I'm desensitized by most killings in movies as I've been exposed to many onscreen. At 11 I was actually petrified if what my experience would be of Black America, should I ever venture out there. [And yes, I know I shouldn't have been watching an 18 certificate film but kids watch what they aren't supposed to in secret or with their friends after school before their parents get home.]

Throughout my teens I was exposed to the likes of Boyz n The Hood, Menace II Society, Juice, Dead Presidents. Hell, even the love story element of Jason's Lyric in 1994 had gang rivalry and a bloody shootout. And when the black women were running the silver screen the 4 of them were gun toting bank robbers in Set It Off. From what was out at the time and VERY mainstream the black movies that made money in the UK and in the US usually depicted gang violence, sex and guns. So in the next decade I was actually glad that predominantly cast black movies that weren't going straight to DVD were actually about something positive, giving you hope and delivering a message at the same time, whilst actually being able to laugh or have a little cry if like me the sermon given in Daddy's Little Girls spoke to you. And that's where Tyler Perry filled the gap.

I think sometimes we really do have a 'hating' mentality, even if we have no idea why we as a people do it, we just have it. Like I mentioned before I can name a fair few black celebrities that have lived far from innocent lives in private and public and get the praise and support and their wrong doings are over-looked. The minute you have a Hollywood do-gooder, people are looking to find something to critique just for the sheer hell of it. It just goes back to something I've always said with celebrities and people in general that "we live in a society where we now celebrate bad behaviour and support those that do it."

From Tyler's newsletters alone it sounds as though he is VERY aware of the public scrutiny against him, and has made it quite clear he is not doing what he is doing for them, but the ones that support him by watching his show, movies and plays, and I admire that. Most people would have faltered, because they didn't have the mass public adoration that they had hoped for. By the sounds of it, it seems it's the catalyst that keeps him going and succeeding. I glad that someone of his stature can still mix with 'the little people' and be so personable to his fans, he sits in the movie theatre with them on opening nights of his films, sometimes slipping in secretly at the back, reads the messages on his board when he can and take the time to just help people out.
Tyler doesn't come across the type of person like Angelina Jolie who has to document and publicize every great thing he does for charity and good causes but he has done his fair bit. On the two occasions he has done since I've been subscribed to his newsletter it has been to make a point. On the first occasion he was the target of accusation for not doing anything and being questioned on what he has done to help others since he's become successful.

"I remember in '96 I think it was, I was standing in a supermarket. It was a Winn Dixie in Atlanta. I was starving. I had looked through every crevice in my car (that they were trying to find to repossess) trying to find enough change to buy a pack of cookies. They were called the Big 60. That was my meal for the week. Sixty cookies for a dollar, I think it was. Anyway, I got up to the counter with all these pennies. The cashier was frustrated. The people in line were frustrated. But there was one woman in line who said, "Go ahead, I'll pay for it". I took my cookies and cried all the way to my car. Sometimes people just need a little kindness. So, when I left this tip for this woman, it wasn't about me flirting with her. It wasn't about me trying to get anything from her. It was about the kindness that someone had showed me, and how I wanted to pass it on. I was a little offended that someone would report that.

Lots of people do things so that they can get something out of it. That's not me. I'm not the kind of person that does something and then calls the news to say, "Look what I've done!"

One woman left on the message board, "What are you doing to give back. I never hear about you giving back!" Well, you don't hear about it because I don't report it, but just so you will know--I've dug wells in Africa for thousands of people. I've privately paid medical bills for people who couldn't afford it. I've paid for the funerals of children and parents where there families couldn't afford it. I've supported living centres for the elderly, bought gifts for hundreds of children and people in shelters, fed thousands of homeless people, and built 20 houses for Katrina victims. I've paid the back taxes to help elderly folks keep their homes, given away vacations and cars and houses to my employees, built and started churches. And the list goes on.... and I know that many of you have never heard of any of this stuff and that's because I give in secret and God rewards me openly. Now today trust me--the only reason that I'm sharing this with you is so that you will know. When I give I'm being led, not trying to be seen.

So please pass it on. Give a little today and watch God multiply it and give it back to you. If I didn't give then I wouldn't be in the position that I'm in now. There is a law to giving. When you give from your heart, not expecting anything in return, you open yourself up to receive many blessing from God.

Tyler"

When I read things like that it makes me very proud of how far he has come in life and what he continues to do. We are so quick to hold the wrong people up in such a high regard, and criticize to death those honest hard working folks like Tyler Perry. I don't really have celebrity inspirations, but for me I definitely could say that Tyler Perry is one. Whether you like his work or not you cannot deny his achievements and what he continues to do for others is definitely worth giving the man a little respect.