Tyler Perry.

Yesterday, entertainment mogul Tyler Perry sat on Oprah’s stage and discussed the sexual abuse he suffered as a child. The traumatic experience began with verbal and physical abuse from his father; one instance left the young boy blacked out for three days. Three men, a neighbor, a nurse and a church member had molested him at 6 years old, and by the age of 10, a friend’s mother forced him to have intercourse with her. His aunt Jerri, from the audience helped an emotional Perry recount some of his fuzzier memories.

“I feel like I died as a child.”

I’m really sorry to hear abuse was also apart of Perry’s past. As we all know, Oprah was also a victim of childhood molestation, and Perry had expressed early in his career that he had been homeless and living in his car as he grew to fame.

A lot of people have had very judgmental and critical things to say about Perry’s work and behavior– questioning his sexual orientation, and everyone is entitled to their opinion; but him discussing this horrible experience just goes to show, you never know someone’s story. It’s important to be slow to judge, because no one is perfect. We are all shaped by the circumstances we’re placed in and the decisions we make in life. Compassion is vital to a healthy community.

That’s just something to think about.

I’m glad that Tyler Perry was able to overcome his adversity and create an empire beyond his wildest imagination. His story is encouragement to me: no matter what you go through, with determination you can reach your full potentiality.

Peace, Love, Create
~BobbyPen

Here’s the full interview. It’s pretty long, but if you’re curious, check it out.