If you catch a glimpse of Tyler Perry’s new television series, you’ll notice something distinctly different from his past projects.
Too Close to Home, Perry’s latest TV drama series on TLC, has a mostly all-white cast of actors.
Some fans of the writer/producer/director scoff at his decision to go the “Hollywood route” (aka leave out Black actors). While others are curious about Perry’s change of tune — largely because Perry has built his success with stage plays (Madea’s Big Happy Family, Why Did I Get Married), movies (Madea’s Family Reunion, Dairy of a Mad Black Woman) and TV series (House of Payne, The Haves and the Have Not) centered around Black family life and Black actors.
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When prompted by TMZ to respond to his critics, Perry was matter of fact in his reply.
“People are people,” he said, “People need to let all that go”.
In a telephone interview on the Tom Joyner Morning Show, Perry opened up about a double standard used against Black filmmakers.
“I’m so sick of folks asking me why I have a show full of white folks. Nobody asked Norman Lear why he wrote for black people all those years,” he told the hosts.
“People are people. I’m writing a story about a girl that comes from a trailer park and whose family has a lot of dysfunction. That can happen whether you’re black or white,” Perry said.
Watch the trailer of Too Close to Home that premiered Monday on TLC.