In a new interview with Keke Palmer, Tyler Perry says he’s expanded writers’ rooms on his television projects, while slamming some critics of his films and shows as “highbrow negroes.”
Perry talked with Palmer on her podcast, Baby, This is Keke Palmer. Palmer asked him how does he handle everything, including writing all of his projects. Perry admitted that he is using a writers’ room to train up new generations of creators.
“Over the last two years now, I’ve brought in writers’ rooms and we’ve had them on other, on the sitcoms, but now I’ve brought them in on other shows,” he told Palmer. “I’ve trained enough young directors to be able to understand how to edit and shoot. So they’re able to do a huge page count like I can. I’ve trained them how to watch for waste and time, but it’s very important to know when to let go.”
“Like for me, I realized at this age is that if I keep holding on to the little things. Then it’s missing the huge opportunities that I should be focusing on,” he continued. “So you’ve got to find the right people to take up the banner and run with those areas.”
Perry also said critics of his films, particularly his latest film, Tyler Perry’s Divorce in the Black, are like a “highbrow negro,” as Vibe notes.
He claimed he has to stay true to his “authentic voice” despite what critics (and even his contemporaries like Loni Love) say. He said, “If you let somebody talk you out of a place that God has put you in, you are going to find yourself in hell.”
“I know for a fact that what I’m doing is exactly what I’m supposed to be doing, because for everyone who is a critic, I have thousands of–what 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?’ This is what is important to me.”
“A large portion of my fans 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 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 bulls**t.”
Watch the full episode below:
