Tyler Perry has remained mum on comedian Lil Rel Howery questioning his qualifications for writing the BET series “Sistas,” but the cast of the show has recently stepped in to defend the Atlanta-based mogul.
Perry wrote, directed and executive produced the series, which chronicles the lives of black women from different walks of life who bond over singledom.
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The movie and TV mogul has been criticized for being the sole writer of several of his series and Howery urged Perry to "find more writers" to script his projects.
“You can’t write a show called ‘Sistas’ and you’re not a sista. So you don’t want no suggestions or nothing?” Howery said during an event with the African-American Film Critics Association recorded on Deadline's “New Hollywood Podcast.”
However, the stars of the show disagree.
Speaking to Essence magazine on the red carpet of the NAACP Image Awards recently, Mignon Baker cited Perry's late mother as one of his inspirations for the female-led "Sistas."
“We have a director/executive producer/creator who loves women,” said Mignon, who portrays Danni on the comedy-drama. “If you’ve ever taken the time to listen to one of his interviews, he would tell you that his number one inspiration is his mother.”
“I think critics who criticize him and his writing, I think… I’m just going to be honest with you. I think there is a culture of hateration,” Mignon added. “There’s a culture of being critical and I think there’s a reason for that. So many of us aren’t following our dreams. It’s so easy to not be in the ring and be on the sidelines and critique.”
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Mignon’s co-star, Ebony Obsidian, agreed.
“It’s also really important to remember that Tyler Perry has put black women specifically in the forefront in so many other ways. ... He may have sat there and written a script but it’s coming from black women. So, black women’s fingerprints are all over this script,” said Obsidian, who plays Karen on the series.
“There’s so many ways to be represented,” she added.
Mignon also noted that Perry gave black women on staff at “Sistas” producer credits because he spoke to them about their experiences, which informed the script.
“Don’t invalidate somebody else’s reality because it’s not yours,” added Novi Brown, who plays Sabrina on-screen.
Perry has spoken about drawing inspiration from black women before. During his acceptance speech for the Ultimate Icon Award at the BET Awards, he explained how his mother was woven into his first set of films.
“My first 10 movies were all about her, subconsciously, wanting her to know that she was worthy — wanting black women to know you’re worthy, you’re special, you’re powerful, you’re amazing,” he said in 2019.
Regardless of that, though, not everyone was convinced by the “Sistas” stars’ response.
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