Who is talking to Chris Wallace? / HBO
Tyler Perry He’s always struggled with his idiosyncratic personality, Madea, and stereotypes some feel endorsing – but he’s standing up for himself…especially against Spike Lee.
Film studio mogul sat down to be interviewed Chris Wallace As part of his new show on HBO Max – “Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace” – which has been canceled from CNN+… and reused in the main streaming app.
Chris Tyler asks about the criticism Lee once had against him in describing his own Madea films – he called the character and/or those films a “coonery clown” in 2009.
From Spike’s POV…Madea is a cartoon of blacks, and women in particular, who thinks it’s a cheap and cheap plagiarism that Tyler has had a lot of success with. There are at least 10 films of him in which the character appears.
While TP was once quoted as saying that Spike can “go to hell,” he was more accurate in explaining why he loved the character and the thinking behind her makeup. He says Madea represented the women he grew up around, and wanted to convey their stories in a humorous way…with a sprinkle of truth. In other words, he seems to see it as a homage.
Tyler summons too Langston Hughes and Harlem Rising to reinforce his view…noting that this caravan was taking place before Spike’s release.
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Now, it’s worth noting that this ancient beef, while still debated today, appears to have been long and buried. Back in 2019, when Tyler He opened his film studio In Georgia, Spike was among the many famous guests who came to check it out. TP even named one of the vocal stages after him… He told us at the time that his legacy was bigger than their feud.