This is not the first time Tyler Perry has addressed criticism regarding his predominantly white TLC drama series Too Close to Home. In fact, a day after the show’s premiere in August, the media mogul referred to criticism over the show’s casting as “ridiculous.”
This time, however, Tyler’s choice of words seem to be rubbing his critics the wrong way.
In a new interview with The Associated Press, Tyler refers to criticism over Too Close to Home as “reverse racism.”
Per The Associated Press:
“That’s totally reverse racism, because it was coming from African-American people,” said Perry, speaking with The Associated Press in his office at Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta.
“I don’t know if it was because they thought I should only be giving jobs to black people. Well, I think that’s ridiculous. If you look at the hundreds of black people I’ve given jobs to and even the ones I’ve made millionaires, people of color, I just think it’s unfair.”
These days, the 47-year-old Perry is more color-blind than ever. He said his years traveling the globe and interacting with people of varying cultures while working his ventures including his “Madea” stage play production tours have helped him see things through a different lens.
“I’m just finding out more as I travel the country and world, the more I meet people, we’re all the same,” he said. “We all got the same dramas. So I’m not seeing color as much as I did anymore in the sense of our stories. Our stories are so similar.”
As expected, Tyler’s declaration has caused quite the stir on social media. What are your thoughts?
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