by Iman Milner
November 16, 2023
The 54-year-old filmmaker revealed his empathy for the firestorm surrounding the former royal couple
Tyler Perry has opened up about his relationship with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, which began when the famous pair sought solace following their move to Los Angeles amid their separation from the royal family. In an interview with Kelly Ripa for her Let’s Talk Off-Camera podcast, the 54-year-old filmmaker revealed that his empathy for the firestorm surrounding the couple, specifically Meghan Markle, led him to offer his home as a safe space, People reports.
“I got the tremendous sense of how overwhelming it all was for her,” Perry said. “I got the sense that — listen, I know what it’s like to have a father who is not great, so seeing some of the things he was doing, I felt that she was very much isolated and alone. And I couldn’t imagine leaving America — and she had a really, really happy life. She was really happy, and I later found all of that out.”
Foregoing the usual celebrity-to-celebrity introduction, Perry made contact with Markle in a more traditional way.
“I sent them a note… and just said, ‘If you ever need anything, I’m here,’” he explained. “She called months later and just talked to me like I was that therapist you talk to, and we just had a great conversation.”
Markle and Prince Harry stayed at the filmmaker’s Beverly Hills home for weeks upon their arrival in California in 2020.
“Every day that they were there, I looked to see if anything’s happening online. Nothing. They don’t even know,” he explained. “So weeks and weeks they were there. They were so happy. It was such a beautiful moment.”
The pair would discuss Perry’s generosity during their sit-down with media maven Oprah Winfrey in 2021 and later chose him to be the godfather of their daughter, Princess Lilibet, according to US Weekly.
“They said, ‘Well, we’d like for you to be Lili’s godfather.’ I go, ‘Whoa.’ I had to take a minute to take that in,” Perry said in an episode of the couple’s Netflix docuseries, Harry & Meghan. “And I thought, ‘I’d be honored. I’d absolutely be honored.’”
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