Tyler Perry is playing for keeps.
Not only did the former chitlin circuit czar-turned-millionaire movie mogul make the good old white boy Hollywood system gag with the star-studded opening of his very own historic (and gargantuan) Atlanta-based studio, he’s about to make a splash within the political arena.
Tyler Perry Studios will host the Nov. 20 Democratic presidential debate, CBS46 first reported.
Situated on what was once the Fort McPherson Army base—where southern soldiers who defiantly fought to keep black people enslaved during the Civil War were trained and housed—the 330-acre lot will be the place to be next month when presidential hopefuls Joe Biden, Julian Castro, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, Andrew Yang, and Tom Seyer have their next showdown.
Other Atlanta sites reportedly considered for the fifth Democratic presidential debate were North of Buckhead and the Gateway Center Arena.
But according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the city’s mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms played a hand in having it at Perry’s studios—which ironically has a replica of the White House on its grounds.
On Saturday night, former Georgia governor candidate Stacey Abrams confirmed on Twitter that the $250 million studio will be the official site for the debate.
Last Wednesday, MSNBC announced that Ashley Parker, Kristen Welker, Rachel Maddow and Andrea Mitchell would serve as the all-women panel of moderators of the debate, which is scheduled to air from 9 to 11 p.m. E.T.
Wouldn’t it be really fun and exciting to get a certain pistol-packing, racket-running grandma—who Perry has played in a series of hit movies and stage-plays—to be a part of the high wattage festivities?
After all, the location can be considered The House That Madea Built.
Certainly, more eyeballs would be tuned in for what is expected to be more of the same.
I know. Wishful thinking.
But like with all things Tyler Perry, the possibilities are limitless.