Tyler Perry has made his first public comments about why his bid to buy BET Media Group fell through.
Perry addressed the sale on Wednesday, Oct. 18, at a Bloomberg summit on business equality, and called the bidding process for BET “disrespectful,” according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“I was disappointed about it for a number of reasons,” the media mogul said.
“The way it happened was disrespectful in a lot of ways,” he added. “Don’t try to get me to pay for something that’s not worth anywhere near the value.”
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Paramount Global began shopping BET Media Group — made up of BET, BET+, BET Her, BET Digital, BET Studios, and VH1 — in March 2023, as previously reported.
The company also owns CBS, MTV, Nickelodeon, Showtime, Paramount Pictures, and other media entities.
However, Paramount Global has recently been selling off assets and reportedly wanted to unload BET to raise cash — while still maintaining a minority stake in the BET properties — and continue a commercial relationship with the brand.
Perry already owns a minority stake in the BET+ streaming platform, which is home to his shows The Oval, Bruh, and All the Queen’s Men.
The filmmaker expressed interest in buying BET Media Group early on. Sean “Diddy” Combs and Byron Allen made offers as well.
Diddy released a since-deleted statement on Instagram in March saying he was “building a team” of investors to buy a majority stake in BET.
“It’s time for BET to be Black-owned again so we have the power to tell our own stories, control our own narrative! This is not about me it’s about WE!!!!” Diddy said at the time.
But in June, the New York Post reported the BET sale appeared to be unraveling because investors were balking at the “$3 billion-plus” asking price.
Then in August, the Wall Street Journal reported Paramount notified potential buyers that it was taking BET Media Group off the market after the bids came in lower than expected.
