Tyler Perry's Boo! A Madea Halloween is set for release on Friday, Oct. 21, and while his leading lady Madea is a riot, she's also an acquired taste. Typically saturated in faith-based humor and over-the-top violent antics, Perry's Madea movies often get dragged by critics. And these are some harsh critics. In fact, they teeter closer to the hater side of the spectrum, often forgetting the contributions that Perry has made for people of color in the industry as he attempts to even the playing field.
Many of those haters call Perry a "coon," and to that, he says, "Coon my ass!" Perry owns Tyler Perry Studios, a massive production company that employs people of color not only behind the camera but in front of the camera, too.
"I just opened a studio where DGA reported that … diversity was because of me in cable television." That's a bold statement for a "coon" to make, no?
While Perry isn't single-handedly changing the face of entertainment, he is making strides to make sure black people have a seat at the table. He acknowledges that he is a person making a difference in the industry. And the next time you consider dissing this multimedia mogul, who wants nothing more than to see black folks working, just know he challenges you with this: "When somebody wants to step up to the plate and get that kind of record, then let's talk. Until then … shut up."
Perry also shared how his parenting skills measure up to his character Brian's, why he will whoop his kid and the Christian way to celebrate Halloween.
Watch Perry's message to his haters here:
For more of black Twitter, check out The Chatterati on The Root and follow The Chatterati on Twitter.