Duke and Duchess of Sussex to honour Tyler Perry

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will be among those paying tribute to Tyler Perry when he receives the Paley Center for Media’s highest honour. The actor and filmmaker will be honoured at the organisation’s gala on December 4, with Prince Harry and his wife Meghan participating in the celebrations.

The Madea star will be celebrated at the gala at the Beverly Wilshire hotel in recognition of his long and diverse career as an actor, writer, director, producer and philanthropist. And, the royal couple – who named Perry godfather to their three-year-old daughter Princess Lilibet – will assemble on the Paley Honors Tribute Host Committee along with the likes of Whoopi Goldberg, Taraji P. Henson, George Lucas, Kerry Washington and Gayle King.

Perry said in a statement: “Throughout my career, I have strived to bring people together and to give a voice to those often underrepresented in media. Media has served as a vital platform for this mission, and I’m honoured to receive this award from The Paley Center for Media, an organisation that has dedicated itself to spotlighting the power and importance of media.”

Maureen J Reidy, president and CEO of The Paley Center for Media, added, “Through his acclaimed and prolific body of work, Tyler Perry has solidified his place as one of media’s greatest and most impactful figures. With each new project, he continues to move our industry, and our culture, forward, and it is our great privilege to present Tyler with our highest honour, the Paley Honors Award, on December 4.”

Perry befriended the royals when he wrote to Meghan before her May 2018 wedding to the prince to let her know he was praying for her amid “hurtful” stories about the former Suits actress and her strained relationship with her father Thomas Markle.

Explaining how he “immediately empathised” with the duchess, Tyler previously said on the couple’s Harry + Meghan docuseries: “I couldn’t even imagine this woman finding the man that she loved, the man of her dreams, and him being a prince, and then to walk into all of that madness and need the security of family and then have your father do some horrible things.When my life changed and success started to come, family members became different people, and I know how hurtful and horrible it can be.”

And when the couple stepped down from royal life in 2020, Tyler offered them one of his homes to live in, in Los Angeles with their son Prince Archie.