Filmmaker subjected to “reverse racism”
ATLANTA (AP) — Tyler Perry is known for creating opportunities for black actors. But recently the African-American filmmaker weathered a backlash for assembling an all-white starring cast for the TLC drama series Too Close to Home.
Perry rejects the criticism, much of it on social media. Some questioned his casting choices, with one calling the show an “all time low” for the producer when the series aired this year. But by the end of the season, those harsh words turned mostly into praise of the series.
“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 colour, I just think it’s unfair.”
These days, the 47-year-old Perry is more colour-blind than ever. He said his years travelling 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 colour as much as I did anymore in the sense of our stories. Our stories are so similar.”
The second half of the first season of Perry’s newest drama — Too Close to Home — premieres Jan. 4 on TLC.