Writers Take Tyler Perry to Task After He Admits ‘I Have No Writers Room’

Tyler Perry Attends BET Awards (Shutterstock)

Tyler Perry’s fans are urging him to hire Black writers after he revealed on social media this week that he doesn’t utilize the common industry practice of employing a writers room, instead, he says he writes all of his own scripts.

“So, I don’t know if you know this, but all shows on television have a writers room,” Perry said in a post shared on Instagram and Twitter-showing a stack of scripts. “And, most of the time, there are 10 people or 12 or whatever that write on these television shows. Well, I have no writers room. Nobody writes any of my work. I write it all. Why am I telling you this? I wrote all of these scripts by myself in 2019. Work ethic!”

Many fans and writers have been critical of his approach, noting that instead of bragging about his often lackluster narratives, he should flex his power by hiring Black writers who will add fresh perspectives to his characters.

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Comedian Sampson replied to Perry’s post with, “Your Work ethic is GREAT. But there are definitely a lot of fantastic black writers who could use the opportunity and paycheck to work in a writers room with and for you.”

Twitter user @shaquaylamims added, “This is the one thing that burns about being a screenwriter in ATL. There’s a major studio here, black-owned and not one writers room. When we get to LA, we still have to come back to ATL to film. But that is OK. We will build our own table as well.”

User Ace of Hearts noted, “Friendly reminder that this man once fired writers bc they sought out union representation. He’s been [known] to not follow union rules. Part of the reason he’s the sole writer on his projects is bc he’s not tryna pay other writers for their work….but, you know, ‘Black Excellence.’”

Get the full story at Lee Bailey’s EURweb.com.