Originally posted Wednesday, June 5, 2019 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
Atlanta media mogul Tyler Perry is avoiding the tricky abortion debate, but he quickly jumped into the fray when it comes to actors begging to work for him via billboard.
Earlier today, I posted a story about Racquel Bailey, an actress who received an audition with Tyler Perry Studios after she invested $2,000 on two billboards near the studios asking him to make her a "leading lady."
Despite the fact his studio did give her an audition, he decided to put a kibosh on copycats by posting on social media that nobody needs to get his attention this way.
“Please DON’T DO THIS, SAVE YOUR MONEY!!” Perry wrote. “This is the third time that someone has done this. PLEASE STOP! To audition is FREE!! I’m sure you can use that money for a better purpose.”
He then directed his message to Bailey without mentioning her name:
I love that you want to work with me, and I love that you invest in yourself. But when you do things like this it puts my team on high alert and makes me look at you sideways. I know the message that you want to send is a positive one, but this comes across as the opposite.
Despite his characteristic bluntness, Perry softened the blow by saying he actually liked Bailey in her recurring role on “The Night Of” on HBO.
“It was my favorite show a couple years ago,” he noted. “I ALREADY SAW YOU!! So just audition and keep your money!!”
He ended on a positive note: “God bless you dreamer. I have no doubt you will make it one day!!”
Bailey, 32, did not respond to a text seeking comment about Perry’s thoughts. In a previous interview, she was just glad she was able to get an in-person audition for a role in a Perry pilot show and was awaiting response.
UPDATE: She spoke exclusively to Access Hollywood after his post on Thursday. “I wanted to take heed to everything he was saying,” she said. “This was my leap of faith. This is my journey. It may not be for everybody else. I just wanted to do something out of the box.”
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