Subscribe

HB: So obviously you have been working with Tyler Perry for a long time, how has he grown?

Patrice Lovely (“Love Thy Neighbor”):

Not too too long, not long enough. My credit score hadn’t gotten up that high. But yeah, I’ve been working with him for awhile, about 7 years now. Most definitely, the growth is there. As he has grown, I have grown as well. What he has learned, is passed on. He is a very giving person, someone that has enabled me to go and exercise my gifts, and higher heights that I didn’t even anticipate doing on my own. So, he has accelerated my career. For all the days I may not have gotten in the past, I’ve regained by being affiliated with him.

HB: Within the Black community specifically, there’s a lot of criticism against Tyler Perry and everything that he does. Do you think that Black people are right for criticizing Tyler Perry in the way that he portrays black people on television?

Palmer Williams, Jr. (“Love Thy Neighbor”):

Absolutely not. I mean. Everybody has one. As politically correct as I can say it, the issue is, when have we had this type of entertainment for ourselves? When have we had anything that we can be proud to go to the movie theatres and see? When have we had anything that we can call our home, as a community? When can we say anything, as far as our heritage is concerned, that we can actually lay claim too. So this is one thing that we can actually say we were a part of the growth of and the beginning of it and the continuation of it. We don’t have anything. The last thing we have now are black barbershops, beauty salons, and a church, and we’re trying to lose all of those! So we got one thing we can cling on to, and that’s our art. We are very gifted people and we’re even willing to give that away.

So when you have your own, you should try to support him, not be a crab in the barrel and pull him down. But support him even more so, because who’s to say you’re not going to be the next person? Who’s to say that you’re not going to need to support the same community that you come from? Art imitates life, life imitates art. He is a Black man and he is talking about the Black life. Well, it just so happens that it’s not just about race, it transcends. He is a Black man that happens to be talking about the human race, so it’s not even a Black story, it’s a universal story, he just happens to be Black.

Just like our president, he’s not fighting for all the Black causes, he’s fighting for everybody’s causes. But not only does he happen to be Black, he happens to be good, same as with Tyler Perry. That president swagger, you cant mess with that!

HB: There’s a lot of reality shows that have been popping up over the last couple of years, and some would even say that it has kind of taken away the art of true acting, and as an actor, how do you feel about that? Do you feel the lack of sitcoms or the lack of TV?

Palmer Williams, Jr. (“Love Thy Neighbor”):

Well, scripted shows are few and far between, and I think that’s why this particular show is going to be that much more successful, because now you can take something that a lot of work has been put into, from the page to the stage.

We’re able to bring it to the people that have loved and adored Tyler Perry as well as Oprah Winfrey and now give them something they’ve been wanting for a while. We’ve been stereotypically portrayed, especially our Black queens of how we always fight, we throw drinks on each other, we can’t get along, and that’s the furthest from the truth. A lot of people are actually starting to imitate that, and we don’t want that for our young princesses. We don’t want them growing up thinking the only way you can resolve something is through a fight. So it’s time for us to get something that’s a little bit more positive and that’s going to show our young daughters and our young sisters that there is an alternative to the cackling and fighting and stuff like that. We’re not all like that, its time for some Cosby shows.

HB: What has been the most rewarding thing for you to be working with Tyler Perry?

Palmer Williams, Jr. (“Love Thy Neighbor”):

That’s a great question.The most rewarding thing for me and working on the show is not only working with Tyler, but working in association with Oprah, because both of their brands, I’m so aligned to. They have such a positive, beautiful way of inspiring people. And I have been watching Oprah for I don’t know how long, and I love Tyler, I worked with Tyler prior to this. So for me, it’s just rewarding to know that they trusted me enough to have me become a part of their brand which is so amazing and so inspirational, and you aspire to one day be in that caliber of people that inspires the masses.

Do you feel Tyler’s able to capture the essence of what is to be a Latina? Do you feel that he is able to capture that in you? Or does he make it stereotypical?

Zulay Henao (“Love Thy Neighbor”):

I feel like Tyler(because I worked with him before)he knows who I am, and I feel like he wrote me in perfectly. My character is a humanitarian–she loves people. She is kind. I’ll tell you the honest to God truth, I did not read a script until I got on set. That’s how much I trust him. He’s like, “Just come, this is what we’re going to do, these are the scripts.” And I trusted him and it worked and it was beautiful.

Must Read: 50 Killer Looks Starring The Uber-Fabulous Solange Knowles

LIKE HelloBeautiful On Facebook!

Related Stories:

Miss Sophia Meets Madea: Oprah and Tyler Perry Team Up For Hilarious OWN Promo (VIDEO)

Tyler Perry’s ‘The Haves & The Have Nots’ Breaks Records For OWN

Check Out This Gallery Of The Hottest Celeb Pics Of The Week!

Hottest Celeb Pics Of The Week 5-29-13
0 photos

« Previous page 1 2 3

For 2024’s iteration of MadameNoire and HelloBeautiful’s annual series Women to Know, we knew we wanted to celebrate the people who help make the joys of film and television possible. To create art is to create magic. This year, we spotlight Hollywood Executive’s changing the face of cinema.