The Untold Truth Of Tyler Perry

Ever since showing up on the Hollywood scene in 2005, Tyler Perry has been a steady pop culture presence. Partly, this is due to just how many film, television, and stage projects he works on annually. It's also thanks to how he changed the game for Black creators and how they have ownership over the properties they've created. And, on top of everything else, it's because his films resonate with a wide audience. Films like "Madea Goes to Jail" aren't beloved by critics, but their consistently strong box office performances indicate they've proven popular enough with moviegoers to solidify Perry as a major draw for over a decade now.

Even given how ubiquitous Perry is in the pop culture landscape, there's still plenty about this media figure that isn't widely talked about. Parts of his career — like which specific projects brought him to TV for the first time, his creative partnership with the Oprah Winfrey Network, or his lifetime achievements at the worldwide box office — may not be common knowledge. However, they speak to the kind of work ethic and enormous fanbase Perry has cultivated in his time spent in the cinematic spotlight.

These days, if Tyler Perry wants to make a movie, that thing gets made asap. After all, he's a major player in the Hollywood scene. But his very first foray into cinema, "Diary of a Mad Black Woman," was a different story. After all, Perry wasn't a household name yet, and his movie was plagued by financing problems. So, in order to get the film made and maintain a level of creative control on the project, Perry decided to use his own money to finance the movie.

"I own everything I've ever done and will continue to," Perry said to MTV. "I did a whole script and decided I was going to finance the whole thing and do direct-to-DVD. Then Lionsgate came in and said, 'We'll let you do what you want to do.' I said, 'You can't bother me. It's got to be true to what I know it should be.' I financed 50% of it; they financed 50%." With the financing secured, "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" was able to come to the screen and establish Perry as a filmmaker worth recognizing. In the process, the director also established his affinity for having a sense of ownership over his work.

In addition to his work in films, Perry has also become a fixture of television, a career path that began with the sitcom "House of Payne." Debuting on TBS in June 2007, the show debuted to massive viewership that made it immediately apparent that Perry was able to carry his fanbase over into the world of TV.

"House of Payne" would go on to air in its original run until August 2012, producing hundreds of episodes in the process. Even with the ongoing success of "House of Payne," Perry didn't restrict his TV pursuits to this one show. In fact, "Payne" opened up the door for Perry to produce other TV shows like "Meet the Browns" and "For Better and For Worse." And while "House of Payne" ended in 2012, the show's enduring popularity in reruns led to it being revived on BET in September 2020. Perry has been behind several other lucrative TV shows over the years, but "House of Payne" — his first endeavor in this storytelling domain — remains one of his most well-known accomplishments.

Looking over his work, it's pretty apparent that Perry likes to maintain a heavy amount of creative control over his properties. Not only does he write his films himself, but he also — save for the occasional exception like "For Colored Girls" — only works with his own original content or adapts his own preexisting work. This was made explicit at the start of 2020 when Perry went to Instagram to talk about all the scripts he'd managed to write in 2019. "I don't know if you know this, but all shows on television have a writers room, and most of the time, there are 10 people, 12, whatever that write on these television shows," Perry said. "I have no writers room. Nobody writes any of my work. I write it all."

This post drew its fair share of criticism, particularly from writers who felt that Perry, by taking full creative control on his productions, wasn't offering up new opportunities to marginalized writers. This decision remains controversial, but it does objectively reflect the kind of creative approach Perry has always taken to his work. Dating back to his days as an independent playwright, Perry has always maintained full control over what he puts his name on.

In 2009, Spike Lee opined on the films of Tyler Perry by saying he found them "concerning" because of their use of characters that he saw adhering to dangerous stereotypes associated with Black people. It wasn't long before Perry shot back, making it clear he wasn't happy with the director's comments. "I'm so sick of hearing about damn Spike Lee," Perry responded (via The Hollywood Reporter). "Spike can go straight to hell! You can print that. I am sick of him talking about me. ... I am sick of him talking about Black people going to see movies."

A feud between any two major filmmakers is bound to capture people's attention, and the Perry/Lee squabble certainly generated plenty of publicity. But eventually, Perry said the difficulties between himself and Lee were now a thing of the past. Turns out, their issues evaporated once they began talking to one another instead of just about one another. "Spike called me a few years ago, and he came to my house. We sat down and had a great conversation," Perry explained (via Urban Hollywood). "The beauty is that's what I'm hoping people will understand. ... With this moment for me and Spike is a huge moment.

Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey have frequently worked together on a variety of projects, ranging from "Precious" (which they both produced) to "The Star" (on which they both provided voicework). However, the duo's partnership went to a whole new level with the announcement in 2012 that Perry would be producing original TV programming for Oprah Winfrey's newest media venture, the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN). "It's a dream realized to partner with Oprah and bring scripted programming to OWN," Perry said about the news. "She has accomplished so much with the network, and I'm excited to work with her to be a part of its continued growth."

This partnership resulted in one of the network's most successful programs, "The Haves and the Have Nots," which scored record-high levels of viewership for OWN. But Perry's contributions to the network didn't stop with just one show. He's also produced successful series like "Love Thy Neighbor" and "If Loving You Is Wrong." So yeah, when you combine the forces of Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey, it should come as no surprise that the results are insanely successful.

Tyler Perry's movies have been box office successes from the get-go, with "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" being a big enough hit to pave the way for him to write, direct, and star in future films. Since then, he's continued to deliver a number of major box office successes, including "Madea Goes to Jail" and "Boo! A Madea Halloween." And even with his films rarely scoring much in the way of international distribution, Perry has headlined enough hits to amass a staggeringly impressive sum of cash.

Movies that feature Perry in behind-the-scenes roles have now grossed over $1 billion worldwide. This includes titles he's produced like "Precious" and "Peeples," but the majority of the films that comprise this haul are the ones Perry has written and directed. It's a testament to the consistent and sizeable fanbase Perry has amassed over the years. Perry wasn't a fly-by-night talent, but rather, he's someone who's been able to maintain serious audience engagement with hit film after hit film, to the tune of over $1 billion.