After drawing criticism for a viral tweet showing off his “work ethic” by way of a stack of new scripts, Tyler Perry doubled-down on his decision not to hire outside writers, but the rule only applies to certain projects.
“I don’t know what people are complaining about because I’m writing specifically for my audience.” Perry told Essence while promoting his new Netflix film, A Fall From Grace. “What people don’t know is early on, I had a writer’s room and it was a nightmare for me. Not only that, I had writers writing shows [and] they were turning in scripts that didn’t speak to my audience, and my ratings took a dip.”
“So what I started to do is I said ‘I’ve got to write this because my audience knows my voice.’ They want to hear what I’m saying,” Perry continued. “But there are other shows that we’re developing at the studio where there will be writer’s rooms with other show runners and giving people lots of opportunities.”
“I don’t know what people are complaining about because I’m writing specifically for my audience,” he said before noting that his shows The Oval, Sistas, and The Haves and The Have Nots are number one on their respective cable networks.
Watch the full interview below.