Now, this is less of a terror tale, and more of a cautionary tale on the importance of proper financial handling and selecting the right team of people to help you manage your finances.
Tyler Perry, the renowned American actor, writer, director, and producer, recently faced a significant issue with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that resulted in him receiving a check for $9 million. According to Black Enterprise, at the 2022 Earn Your Leisure Conference, Perry shared that as a result of a three-year audit done by a team of accountants, he wound up learning that he had overpaid the government $9 million. This was a significant surprise for Perry, as he had trusted his team of accountants to handle his finances properly.
Despite the shock, Perry took this experience as an opportunity to learn and grow, both personally and professionally. He reassured the conference crowd that it’s okay to make mistakes in business as long as you learn from them, so as to not repeat them ever again. Perry stated, “Listen to me: In business, it’s okay to make mistakes. It’s okay to learn. You have to learn, but don’t let it keep happening over and over again. That’s one thing about me. I’ll let you make a million mistakes, but you can’t do the same thing over and over again. That’s how I run my business. Here’s the mistake. Let’s fix it; let’s move forward.”
This experience with the IRS highlights the importance of proper financial management for individuals and businesses. It serves as a reminder to always stay informed and involved in the financial decisions that affect us, and to have a team of trustworthy professionals in place to handle our finances. This experience also taught Perry to always stay vigilant and not to take anything for granted, and to always be ready to learn from any mistakes that may occur.
Overall, this incident with the IRS did not put a damper on Perry’s career, in fact, this experience may have helped him to be more cautious and knowledgeable in his financial aspects. Furthermore, Perry’s spirit of moving forward and learning despite challenges, in addition to his impactful filmography and TV shows, has made him the perfect case study for a new course at Emory University this fall. Taught by Tameka Cage Conley, an Assistant Professor of English and Creative Writing, the course titled “In the Language of Folk and Kin: The Legacy of Folklore, the Griot and Community in the Artistic Praxis of Tyler Perry” will be offered to about 14 freshman students at the private college. The course aims to explore the importance of strong female figures in Black families and how Perry’s Madea character played a role in that.
