-Tyler, it is great to see you.
Thank you for being on the show.
I'm assuming you're in the -- You're at your studio?
Is that where you are? -Yeah, yeah.
I'm in Sound Stage 5, the Diahann Carroll Sound Stage.
Yeah. Yeah.
But, man, we got to get --
Listen, we got to get a vaccine or something.
This is -- Come on, come on. Come on, man.
We have fun together.
We fly planes and race cars, and how can we do that here?
So, yeah, I love it. -Please, let's just get one.
Just -- If anyone is listening, come on, Tyler Perry wants one.
Let's go. I mean, I've been asking.
-That's right. That's right. -I've been asking.
-That's right. -Please
Madea is working on one, but I don't think anybody
wants to take it right away.
It's kind of like injecting bleach into the body
with, like, a light and making sure it works.
That was her idea first, so...
-How is the quarantine?
Did you create, like, a bubble of just everyone in your world?
Or just you?
-Yeah, I've got 377 people in quarantine, starting --
We just wrapped for a week.
So, we shoot a show for two weeks, we go home a week,
come back two more weeks.
So, we're getting ready to start our final show.
It's a three-week stretch, so everybody is home right now.
They start checking in tomorrow, re-testing tomorrow,
and we're gonna go from there.
It's like adult summer camp.
You know, I was telling them -- I was like,
"Guys, listen, I know you're all here and beautiful
and young, single people.
I can protect you from COVID,
but I can't protect you from the clap.
So, you know, it's all --
You've got to handle that for yourself.
-Yeah, come on. -This is about a COVID-free.
-Yeah, "I can only do so much." -Can't do that, can't do that.
-Are you maintaining the pace that you're always doing
or are things moving a little slower?
-No, no, no. We haven't slowed down.
My crew -- I had to have a smaller crew,
so our moves take longer,
but, no, we're rockin' and rollin', man.
And we have movies in the evening on the lawn.
We have four or five different food trucks.
We have an alcohol truck.
It's really -- We're enjoying it as we're working.
-Gosh, that is fantastic.
You got some news recently that you're going to receive
the Governors Award at this year's Emmys ceremony.
What does that mean to you? -Wouldn't you know it?
They'd do it in a year where everything is virtual?
I said, "Listen --" [ Both laugh ]
I'm like, "I don't give a damn.
You tell me where it is, I'm showing up in full hazmat suit.
I will be there,"
'cause it's such an incredible honor.
And to think that the governors
would actually consider me for this is beyond --
I'm blown away by it.
-Well, you deserve the recognition
for everything you're doing.
But I've got to say, during this pandemic,
you've really been looking out for others
and helping people.
Even just your donations. You're giving to individuals.
You cover grocery bills for the elderly.
You help local restaurant workers.
Why is it important for you to give directly to the people?
-Well, just look around at how much direct
anger and sadness and division, and everybody is going --
Everybody is grabbing a color and running to a corner,
and nobody's coming together.
So I wanted to just be out there doing things
that inspire people, 'cause I feel like if I do it,
it will inspire other people to stop so much of this
division and come together,
because where change happens is in the middle.
So every time I'm giving, I'm hoping that
I'm inspiring somebody else to do the same.
-Yeah, you definitely inspire me to do more,
'cause I saw that and I was like,
"Oh, I'm just going to get delivery
even if I don't want delivery, and I'll just tip the person."
I go, "I'll just put it in the freezer.
I'm stocked."
Just to keep people fed and get money
and get something moving.
-Yeah, yeah.
-I also read a beautiful essay that you wrote
for "People" magazine in the wake of George Floyd's murder.
It was very powerful and moving.
What is it like for you to sit down and write that?
Did you say, "I have to do something,"
or did somebody ask you to or...
-No, that was hard. I was so troubled by his death.
And I -- When I started to put pen to paper,
I had a flood of emotion.
I was in tears by the time
I got through the first couple of sentences,
because I didn't realize how much of it I had been carrying
and how much of it for so long.
And what happened out of all of that tragedy,
seeing all races galvanized together
to stand up against police brutality,
it was really moving and inspiring on so many levels,
so I was glad to see that,
'cause that's when change happens.
Black and brown people are only 12% to 14% of the population,
so we need everyone to make a change happen.
And to see us all coming together,
that's what America is -- standing together as one,
not being divided and pitted against each other.
-Two months after writing it now, where is your head at now?
-Well, I've got to tell you, I was really, really hopeful
in the beginning, because I thought,
"Okay, everybody is galvanized.
This is gonna be great."
But what I'm seeing now troubles me,
because it's being weaponized in this political climate.
Black Lives Matter is being pulled apart and ripped here.
And what I tell people about my life and what I've done is,
listen, two years ago, when a white police officer
was shot in the head for trying to stop a shoplifter,
I reached out to his family
to see what I can do to help them.
And with George Floyd and Rayshard Brooks
and Secoriea, this 8-year-old who was killed
at a Wendy's restaurant, I reached out to see
what I could do to help.
It's not about race.
It's about what you do and who you are as a human being.
And humanity is real for all of us.
So I was trying to make sure that we all know
that humanity comes in all shades and sizes,
and you have to treat people as if they're human beings
rather than as if they're just --
They're dismissing them because of their race or whatever.
-Yeah, I think -- Yeah, we can do better,
I think, was the big point that I think was getting out there.
I just hope that we keep having these conversations
until there is actual change, and you go, "Yeah --"
-That's the point, man -- having the conversation.
If everybody is going to their corners
and taking up arms, nothing happens.
We've got to come to the middle and have hard conversations,
uncomfortable conversations, you know?
That's what we need to do.
And I think as long as we're doing that,
we're going to see some great things continue to move forward.
-Let's talk about "Tyler Perry's Madea's Farewell Play."
We talked about this. -Yes!
-Oh! Just even doing the voice.
It's streaming on BET+ starting August 27th.
How do you think Madea would handle quarantine?
-[ As Madea ] Well, baby, I've been wearing my masks-s-s.
I've been wearing all my masks-s-s-s.
Every time I go out, I put on my masks-s-s-s.
I have one here and two here. All my masks are all over.
[ Normal voice ] She can't say mask, so they're masks-s-s-s-s.
-I've got to be honest, You've talked --
I've had you on the show so many times.
We've talked about how these movies start with
plays and your fans.
It starts small and just grows from there.
And I was always like, "I have to go see you perform live,
because I want to see what it's like."
I really -- So, you -- This is a staged play.
This is a full-on play of your final time playing her.
But I had no idea. It crushes. It is so fun.
-Yeah, yeah.
And that's what we need right now.
This is what I tell people.
Get BET+, sign up for it, watch this play.
It is so funny.
If you just want to laugh, just have a good laugh
with Madea and Brown and Cora and Aunt Bam
and all those characters that you know --
-Oh! Aunt Bam -- that's my favorite.
Cassi, yeah.
-Cassi Davis is unbelievably talented,
always scores for me.
Hooty-hoo is all I'm going to say.
-Hooty-hoo. That's right. That's right. That's right.
So, I tell you, if you want to laugh,
with everything that's going on in the country,
just watch the play.
You know, over the years,
I've sold millions and millions of these DVDs,
and now you get to stream it your house
just by signing up for BET+, which I think is awesome.
-I've got to ask you, is it really the end of Madea?
I mean, you'll never play her again?
-You know, I said I was done with her
unless she had something to say.
Watching what's happening in the country right now,
I think she has something to say.
She may be running for president.
We'll see. -I loved it.
I will also say, again, about the cast,
not only are they funny, but, gosh, they can really sing.
-Yeah. Some of the most incredible voices.
That's why we have to use those big, huge microphones
on the forehead, because we blow out the other little microphones
that they use on Broadway.
-I mean, that -- -These microphones --
-Yeah, these microphones have to handle
some really powerful voices.
-I was just like, "Wow! That was powerful."
And we got to see Madea do some pretty cool moves at the end.
-Yes, yes.
She went back to her stripper days.
-Oh, my gosh. -Yeah.
-Bodacious? What was her ---
-[ As Madea ] Bodacious, baby. Bodacious Platinum.
That was my name as a stripper, Bodacious Platinum.
-There's so many things that made me laugh.
It was -- The cast is fantastic.
And it really, really made me laugh,
and we all do need laughter.
We need entertainment.
And so thanks for everything you do.
And, also, there's a speech you say at the end
of the performance that I think everyone should stick around
and just hear you talk about,
because it basically tells everyone, "Hey, don't stop."
-Yeah. Exactly right.
-"If you've got something, don't stop.
-Yep. Don't stop.
Things can get hard, they can get tough, but don't stop,
because had I stopped, I wouldn't be here now,
sitting in the Diahann Carroll Sound Stage
on my studio lot, right?
So I tell people, "No matter how hard it gets,
because I've had some really dark days, don't stop."
-Tyler, please don't stop.
Thanks for taking the time to catch up with me.
You know I love you, man. Good luck with everything --
-I love you too, buddy. Thank you.