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Tyler Perry was honored by the Paley Center on Wednesday for his body of work in film, television and the stage. He’s at the stage of his career where he’s regularly picking up awards and tributes for his career and his work outside of entertainment. All of that is very well and good and I’m not minimizing any part of his groundbreaking career. But to me, he’ll always be the guy who decided to save the Sussexes’ lives when he really had no reason to. He wrote Meghan a letter when she married Harry, and she ended up reaching out to him in 2020, when the Sussexes escaped the UK but they were being hunted and targeted. Tyler protected them, gave them a home, gave them security and gave them time to work out their next steps.

All of that was the start of a very real friendship, and now they’re family. Tyler isn’t just godfather to Princess Lili, he’s a godfather-like figure to both Meghan and Harry. He is also the rare person with some kind of cultural gravitas, explaining what actually happened and what he saw: the Sussexes were being abused by the Windsors and by powerful institutions. Go back and read what he said about them. Well, there were no hard feelings when Harry had to miss Tyler’s Paley Honors. Meghan was there, and she was seated by Tyler at the event, and he also spoke about them on the red carpet:

Tyler Perry is taking a bow for Meghan Markle and Prince Harry. After all, the filmmaker couldn’t help but gush over the Duchess and Duke of Sussex’s royally sweet marriage.

“They love each other,” Tyler told E! News at the Paley Honors Fall Gala, where he was honored with the prestigious Paley Honors award. “They have a beautiful family and I just want the best for them.”

Of his personal dynamic with Harry and Meghan—the latter of whom attended the Gala in support of Tyler—he added, “It’s a real, pure and beautiful friendship. I love them.”

[From E! News]

I’ve often wondered, in the past five years, if Harry and Meghan get this kind of consistent support from many powerful Americans (Oprah, Beyonce) but it’s just not as public as it is with Tyler. Anyway, Tyler is a mensch.

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