Tyler Perry discusses ‘Too Close to Home’ and series’ all-white cast

Tyler Perry is known for creating opportunities for black actors. But recently the African-American filmmaker weathered a backlash for assembling an allwhite 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.

“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-yearold 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.”