The 52-year-old actor and producer also touched on how his son is growing up.
Tyler Perry is sharing the exact reason why he chooses to keep his personal relationships private, especially when it comes to his 7-year-old son, Aman.
The 52-year-old actor/producer/director spoke at length with AARP The Magazine about his successful acting career in Hollywood, being the billionaire head of a studio empire and the release of his upcoming Netflix film, A Jazzman Blues, but when it came to making revelations about his personal relationships, Perry kept those cards close to his chest.
"Because these people are not famous," he explains. "My son's not famous. I want him to have as normal a life as he can. I want him to know what it's like to have his own name and his own life and not have the pressure of trying to live up to whatever or whoever your father was."
Perry and his ex girlfriend, Gelila Bekele, share Aman. The pair ended their longtime relationship in December 2020.
The Madea star, however, did reveal that while his son's still a boy with the purest intentions, he knows it's only a matter of time until reality sets in, and this is especially true when it comes to dealing with sensitive subjects such as race.
"I haven't had the conversation with Aman because he's only 7, and I want to hold out as long as I can," Perry says. "I don't want to tell him that there are people who will judge him because of the color of his skin, because right now he's in a school with every race, and all these kids are in their purest form. When he describes his friends, he never defines them by race. So, the moment he loses that innocence is going to be a very, very sad day for me. I know it's coming, though, because he's already asking some really tough questions. What I want him to be, more than anything, is somebody who sees injustice, speaks out against it and effects change."
While Perry aims to keep his son out of the bright spotlight, the Hollywood power broker has opened up a bit in the past about fatherhood and the responsibility he holds himself accountable for.
“Every cliché is true, man,” Perry told ET back in October 2017. “Just having an opportunity to mold a great human being is a wonderful thing. To help nurture and cultivate his life, in whatever wonderful thing he is going to be, is really awesome.”
Three years prior, Perry also opened up to ET about what it was like being in the delivery room and cutting his son's umbilical cord.
"It was the most amazing thing. I was there, I cut the cord, I was in the room, I was helping her breathe. I can't even describe it," Perry told ET. "It's really fresh. I'm here for about 18 hours then I'm right back to New York because I can't wait to see him."
When he was asked to describe who Tyler Perry is today, the media mogul didn't mention his accolades or the role he's played in shaping Hollywood. Perry, instead, mentioned to AARP his mother's name and being a proud father.
"I'm Maxine's baby," he says. "I am defined by everything she put in me. She was the kind of woman who tolerated or accepted nothing but your best. And I'm Aman's father. All of this other stuff is really great. But the thing that gives me motivation every day is being Aman's father."
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