Actor and filmmaker Tyler Perry shared with AARP The Magazine the reason behind his decision to keep his son Aman away from the limelight and why he believed his personal relationships should be private.
It was simple: The people in his personal life weren’t famous, including his son. He just wanted to provide him with a normal life. Well, as normal as a life as he could.
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Expounding on his answer, he said that he wanted Aman to know what it was like to have his own name and life. More importantly, he didn’t want him to feel pressured to live up to his successful reputation.
In an article published by Forbes, it was reported that Tyler had been earning around $1.4 billion in pretax income since 2005. This wealth came from his own film works, including House of Payne (purchased by CW, with TBS paying $200 million to air the episodes) and his hit Madea movies (which already grossed over $660 million, giving him $290 million in profits). Since these were his original works, he always got the lion’s share of the profits. He also has his own movie studio.
Aside from that, he also wanted to protect Aman from the world for as long as he could. It’s no secret that people of color like them receive unnecessary attention and unwarranted judgment just because of their skin.
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He said, “Right now, he’s in a school with every race, and all these kids are in their purest form.” Additionally, whenever Aman described his friends, it was never by race.
However, he was ready to talk about it with him the moment that innocence was lost, and he knew it would be coming soon as Aman had already been asking tough questions. More than anything, he wanted his kid to be somebody who isn’t afraid to speak out when he sees injustice and seeks change. Until then, he wants his son to live a life without worries.
While Tyler sheltered Aman from many things, he had one lesson that he felt was important for him to learn: privilege.
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In a conversation with TV personality Gayle King at the Tribeca Film Festival, he spoke about how he approached the topic. He said that his son didn’t always get everything he wanted. He’d receive a gift or two for birthdays, and the same happened for Christmas. That was because he didn’t have a job; therefore, he didn’t have any money.
He then shared a funny exchange he and Aman had when he was just six years old. According to Tyler, he was at work when he got a message from him asking if he could use his credit card.
He was definitely surprised and asked Aman what he knew about it, as he had only seen him use it. He then told him, “No, son. That’s just plastic, but you have to pay for it. You have to have a job.”
Tyler Perry shares his son Aman with his ex Gelila Bekele. The two called it quits in December 2020.
