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Tyler Perry Reacts to 'Precious,' Reveals Own Childhood Abuses

by Jen Yamato Oct 6th 2009 // 7:45PM

Filed under: Drama, Sundance, Celebrities and Controversy, Movie Marketing


Critics and celebs alike have raved about the Sundance darling Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire, Lee Daniels' hard-hitting account of a teenage girl's struggle with abuse growing up in Harlem. (Even comedienne Mo'Nique has commanded some serious awards season buzz for her performance as Precious' domineering, abusive mother.) But no endorsement can or will be quite as moving, or as disturbing, as the one Precious got from filmmaker Tyler Perry, for whom the film dredged up cathartic memories of his own childhood abuses.

Writing on his official website, Perry – who's created his own film niche with often comic tales of dysfunctional African American families – revealed that his own childhood growing up in New Orleans was filled with abuses to rival those in Precious, based on the experiences of teenage girls author Sapphire taught in New York.



In an open letter to his readers, Perry recounts beatings at the hands of his father, multiple child molestations by friends of the family, his father's disdain for writing and drawing, and one particular ammonia bath administered by his grandmother to get rid of his asthma. And that's not even all of it, he adds. Read his letter here.

The celebrity confessional too often ties into the promotion of a new book or film release, but Perry's revelations are hard to dismiss as mere viral marketing. And while he's hinted at his abusive childhood in the past, this is the first that Perry's revealed just how badly he and his siblings were mistreated. Like the whole of his ouvre, Perry's letter circles back to issues of faith and if anything, explains what may drive his artistic motivations and why he's such a private, yet personal filmmaker.

Precious will open nationwide November 6 with the backing of executive producers Perry and Oprah Winfrey.

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