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In case you still didn’t get it, Tyler Perry is writing for a particular type of audience, and if you’re not a fan of his work, then you’re not a part of that audience. Everything isn’t for everybody, and it’s as simple as that.
Perry reiterated that way of going about things in a new Variety cover story. Known for his immense output when it comes to films and TV shows, the overall opinions on all that work is mixed. Perry is aware that there are many who say that by him solely writing for just about everything he puts out there, he’s worn thin and it impacts the quality of his projects. He said the people that his work is catered to have no complaints, and based on the success of his work, those people are many.
“When I hear that kind of stuff, I’m thinking, ‘Are y’all looking at the ratings? Do you understand that the audience is in love with this?’” he said. “Because if you’re complaining about my writing, you’re not the audience. My audience loves the way that it’s done and the way the stories are told. And from the beginning, it’s always been about being true to them.”
The newly minted billionaire said he has developed a thick skin to deal with the criticism based on the fact that he dealt with much harsher criticism from the man whom he grew up believing was his father.
“I grew up with a man who criticized me and said all kinds of horrible things to me every day of my life. And if that 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-year-old, beautiful kid can endure that and find a way, what kind of man would I be to be hurt or bothered by some other criticism?” he said. “I never see a lot of it, but if it does get to me, I look for truth in it. There’s a lot of it that’s just vitriolic; that’s just ‘I’m going to hate on him because he’s Tyler Perry.’ I get that. But when there’s truth in the criticism, like, ‘Why did he do this, this and this?’ I go, ‘Hmm, let me think about that.'”
An example of Perry and his team taking heed to critiques includes the time Twitter called out the wig choices in his Netflix hit, A Fall From Grace.
“I’m okay with them trying to find their way. They’re going to make some mistakes, so for them I felt the pressure, not for myself,” he said in March of the criticism that came from the hair. “But I tell you what it did. Everything they’re doing now is so much better. So it’s okay.”
But what Perry won’t change is how he writes. The one time he tried to, he found that his supporters didn’t really go for it. He told Variety that won’t work because it is their opinions that make all the difference.
“And if I start writing for the critics, the only movie that I ever wrote that got some critical acclaim [2010’s ‘For Colored Girls’] didn’t do very well,” he said. “I know to speak to the audience — that is the business; that is the voice; those are the people that matter the most to me.”
