Tyler Perry is laughing all the way to the bank despite criticism of his work. His latest thriller/drama Divorce In the Black received abysmal reviews, and a 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics, both professional and everyday viewers of his work, complain of recycled storylines, melodramatic work, poor writing, lack of character and plot development, and his work embodying stereotypes of the Black experience. But Perry says is’s all BS.
As a guest on her Baby, This Is Keke Palmer podcast, the film’s sole writer and director said he’ll stay true to himself and his core fanbase, regardless of the criticism. “You gotta drown all of that out, because if you let somebody talk you out of a place that God has put you in, you are going to find yourself in hell,” he said. “I know for a fact that what I’m doing is exactly what I’m supposed to be doing, because for everyone who is a critic, I have thousands of — what used to be — emails from people saying, ‘This changed my life. Oh my God, you know me. Oh my God, you saw me. How did you know this about my life and my family?’ That is what is important to me.”
Videos by PopCulture.com
Perry continued, “A large portion of my fans are disenfranchised, who cannot get in the Volvo and go to therapy on the weekend. So, you’ve got this highbrow negro who is all up in the air with his nose up looking at everything, then you got people like where I come from, and me, who are grinders, who really know what it’s like. Whose mothers were caregivers for white kids, and were maids, housekeepers…beauticians. Don’t discount these people and say their stories don’t matter. Who are you to be able to say which Black story is important, or should be told? Get out of here with that bullsh*t.”
Perry’s latest film has been panned by criticism and fans alike. Divorce In the Black has been particularly under fire for having several unbelievable plot points. The film opens with a church funeral scene involving a judgemental pastor giving a eulogy, an angry grieving mother, a chaotic congregation, and a corpse being taken out of the casket, through the church, and placed on a pickup truck.
