According to director Tyler Perry, he found out recently that the man his mother claimed was his father is not truly his biological dad, and his mother knowingly kept the truth from him all these years. According to the International Business Times, Perry revealed all of this while speaking at the Women’s Empowerment event in Raleigh, North Carolina. Perry, 44, shared his disappointment about being misled for most of his life, and used it as an opportunity to encourage other mothers to be honest with their children about what’s going on.
“I love my mother to death, but she lied to me.”
The story that Perry shared in the past when speaking on his family was that the late Emmitt Perry Sr., a construction worker with a short fuse and a penchant for physical abuse against Tyler, was his father. Emmitt was married to Perry’s mother, so it only made sense. According to the director, Emmitt would physically abuse Tyler so much as a young man, that he would black out. One specific time, Perry said that Emmitt took a vacuum cleaner cord and whipped him on his back until skin came off. He spoke about the man he believed to be his father when helping to promote the Academy Award-nominated film, Precious a few years back.
“‘You … jackass! You got book sense but you ain’t got no … common sense.’
I heard this every day of my childhood.”
But now Perry is back at stage one it seems, seeking out the man who really is his father, and sharing with other parents the importance of letting their children know what’s really going on. He found out through a DNA test he decided to take with his brother recently that he had been lied to, but he’s ready to find his father and make peace with everything:
“Some of you have secrets that your kids need to know. Let the chips fall where they may. For the peace of that person, let them know.”
Both Emmitt Perry Sr., and Tyler’s mother, Willie Maxine Perry, have passed on. We wish Perry luck on his search, because I can’t imagine how hard all this must be for him.
What do you think about what Perry had to say?
