Tyler Perry Shuts Down 'Highbrow' Critics Of His Films | HuffPost Entertainment

Filmmaker Tyler Perry is hitting back at highbrow critics of his movies.

I know for a fact that what Im doing is exactly what Im supposed to be doing, he said on Tuesdays episode of the Baby, This Is Keke Palmer podcast .

For everyone who is a critic, I have thousands of 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? So that is what is important.

Perry, who is often called one of Hollywoods most successful Black directors, also said that if you let somebody talk you out of a place that God has put you in, you are going to find yourself in hell.

His comments came after podcast host Keke Palmer made reference to Michael R. Jacksons A Strange Loop, a musical in which an aspiring Black playwright lambastes the filmmakers depictions of his characters. Perry said his fans deserve to have their stories told in his work.

Were talking [about] a large portion of my fans who are disenfranchised, who cannot get in the Volvo and go to therapy on the weekend, Perry said. So youve got this highbrow Negro who is all up in the air with his nose up looking at everything, and then youve got people like where I come from, and me, who are grinders, who really know what its like, whose mothers were caregivers for white kids, and were maids and housekeepers.

He added: Dont discount these people and say that their stories dont matter. Who are you to be able to say which Black story is important or should be told? Get out of here with that bullshit.

Perry has previously addressed the backlash to his movies, including from fellow filmmaker Spike Lee .

On an episode of Whos Talking to Chris Wallace? from 2022, Perry said hed heard it all when it came to criticism of his work.

Theres a certain part of our society, especially Black people in the culture, that they look down on certain things within the culture, Perry said at the time.

So when someone says, Youre harkening back to a point of our life that we dont want to talk about or we dont want the world to see, youre dismissing the stories of millions and millions of Black people.

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Watch Perrys full interview on Baby, This Is Keke Palmer below.

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