“I’ve never said this publicly, but I took care of Ms. Tyson for the last 15 years of her life. She was a proud woman, and the only reason I mention this is because she wrote it in her book,” Tyler Perry said. “This woman had done so many amazing things, but she wasn’t well compensated for it. She made $6,000 for Sounder, you know? I wanted to make sure she knew that there were people who valued her.”
Tyler went on to mention how much he paid Ms. Tyson for appearing in one of his films. The actress appeared in Perry’s Diary of a Mad Black Woman, Madea’s Family Reunion, Why Did I Get Married Too?, and co-starred with him in Alex Cross.
“So, she did one day of work on my 2007 film Why Did I Get Married? I paid her a million dollars,” Perry stated. “I loved working with her. And it makes me feel great that I was in a position to give this incredible woman some security in her latter years.”
This isn’t the first time that it has Perry has gone beyond the norm to take care of a Black entertainer. Recently comedian Michael Blackson revealed Perry paid almost triple of what he got in Coming 2 America film to appear in his film.
From Keshia Knight Pulliam to Janet Jackson, Perry has been known to help out Black actors who had either faded from the spotlight or are not getting paid what he feels they deserve. Salute to Tyler Perry for helping out Black Hollywood.