Tongues-talking movie-mogul Tyler Perry, whose Christian values have been criticized by fans over the years, has come under scrutiny again after he was caught on video raining fake money on a stripper at R&B singer Usher’s Past Present Future Tour in Atlanta, Georgia, on Sunday.
Gospel music star Kirk Franklin, who has also been criticized for presenting as too secular by some Christians, was also recorded performing at the concert held at State Farm Arena.
It was unclear if Perry’s appearance at the concert had anything to do with his new Netflix series “Beauty in Black” about the collision of the worlds of an exotic dancer and a wealthy black family in Atlanta, which starts streaming on Thursday.
In the video, Perry can be seen approaching the stripper with Usher Bucks, which is fake money with the singer’s image on it. In the brief interaction, Perry is also seen tapping the stripper on her shoulder, and as soon as she recognizes him, she appears to laugh incredulously. Perry is also recognized by the singer as he tries to escape the camera while Usher attempts to lure him back to the stripper with a stash of Usher bucks.
Chicago-based internet preacher and U.S. Army veteran Marcus Rogers was not happy with Perry, who spoke in tongues and publicly anointed Bishop T.D. Jakes with prayer after donating $1 million to a youth center planned by the pastor in 2013.
“This behavior isn’t biblical, and this behavior reminds me of what the Bible warns about. If you ever want to know why I do what I do, the Bible says the watchmen, when you see something and you standing on that wall and you don’t say something, the blood is going to be on your hands. The Bible says to cry loud and spare not,” said Rogers in a critique of the videos on YouTube.
“We make excuses in the black community all the time because we idolize culture. We put culture over Kingdom. If someone is black and successful and they say that they’re Christian, you know we can’t speak bad about anything that’s going on, but this is what’s going on,” he continued.
“Tyler Perry has zero oil and, unfortunately, when I saw that other clip of him throwing money at the stripper, it made me think about this clip,” he added, highlighting a recording of Perry anointing T.D. Jakes in 2013 at the pastor’s Potter’s House megachurch in Dallas, Texas.
Meanwhile, In underlining his support for Vice President Kamala Harris at a rally in Atlanta on Thursday night, the filmmaker and entertainment mogul Tyler Perry assailed former President Donald J. Trump in direct and somber terms.
Mr. Perry, who built an expansive career in Atlanta with an array of popular movies and television shows depicting Black life in America, told a crowd of 23,000 gathered in a high school football stadium that he knew he could never support Mr. Trump after learning of the full-page ad he had purchased calling for the Central Park Five to be put to death and of his promotion of lies concerning former President Barack Obama’s birthplace.
“I’ve watched him, from the Central Park Five to Project 2025,” Mr. Perry said of Mr. Trump, before formally endorsing Ms. Harris, “and what I realized is that in this Donald Trump America, there is no dream that looks like me.”
Mr. Perry’s speech stood in sharp contrast to the lighter talking points about voting and community organizing that have often defined Democratic events this election cycle.
He has donated millions to local causes in Atlanta, such as paying for students’ college tuition and purchasing homes for low-income people, and he said that Ms. Harris’s promises to lower health care costs made her “a candidate that I can stand with.”
Onstage on Thursday night, Mr. Perry discussed a litany of policies around immigration, health care and housing. He also marked a contrast between his life story and that of Mr. Trump, who he said had “a father who had millions of dollars” and could not understand the struggles of lower- and working-class Black voters.
