Tyler Perry rebukes criticism of not having writers room: 'I don't give that energy'

Tyler Perry has no intention of listening to the naysayers.

The media mogul and multibillionaire filmmaker is taking revenge on those who have questioned why he lacks a writers' room. The writer, director, and producer are often the only authors on hundreds of episodes of television series like "Sistas," "Beauty in Black," and "The Oval," as well as films like the "Madea" franchise. 

"I don't take in the criticism," Perry tells moviemood90is, referring to his most recent film, The Six Triple Eight, which is currently available on Netflix.

"Because if people knew why there weren't any writers or if they knew what I had to go through, the bigotry that brought me to the place where I didn't have a writer's room," Perry, 55, says. 

"In order to compose all of those episodes, I had to overcome a racial situation with the Writers Guild of America, a Hollywood union, the WGA, which made me stand on my own two feet.

Therefore, if people really understood the history of many things, there would be less criticism and more understanding. But since I'm not the kind of man who goes around talking about or revealing everything I've experienced, it leaves a lot of room for speculation."

Perry says he wants "to make sure that what I'm doing is inspiring and motivating and lifting people and encouraging people."

He reaffirmed his statement from when he was given his Icon Award at the recent Critics Choice Association's 7th annual Celebration of Black Cinema & Television: "People shoot at the deer that they can see."

The Netflix movie Six Triple Eight, starring Tyler Perry and Kerry Washington, documents the actual experiences of Black women during World War II.

Tyler Perry attends the Critics Choice Association's 7th annual Celebration of Black Cinema & Television at Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles on December 9, 2024.

"People start saying, 'Oh, you're an icon, you're an icon,' then there's always these targets that are put on your back, and nobody wants to be a target," says Perry.

 Being a target is definitely not something I love, but naturally, I'm in the position I am, have money, and work in the celebrity industry. I'm a target."

It's "not something that I enjoy," he says. Yet, "you know, you roll with it and do what you need to do."

With his latest World War II movie on Netflix, Perry—who is notorious for not reading reviews—isn't defying expectations.

He remembers two critics sitting in the same row at one of his first productions. "This is when I stopped reading reviews," he says. 

"They both went to the same show. One person said the show was the best thing that had ever happened. It was awful to the other person. So, no, I don't spend that much time or energy."