Tyler Perry is opening up about a family secret. He revealed that the man who raised him, Emmitt Perry, Sr., is not his biological father.
“I love my mother to death but she lied to me,” he told Radio One founder Cathy Hughes during an interview at Women’s Empowerment 2014.
Perry added that he always suspected that Perry, Sr. wasn’t his real father because of the abuse that he inflicted on him. Perry’s mother, who is now deceased, always insisted that the man he refers to as a “bastard,” was his biological father.
According to NewsOne, Perry cautioned parents about the importance of telling children the truth.
This is not the first time he has come forward with details of his turbulent childhood. In a 2010 interview with Oprah he opened up about the details of the abuse from his father and other adults in his life. After his mother’s death, Tyler took a DNA test with his brother, which revealed that they did not have the same father. He then took a test with Perry, Sr., confirming what he already suspected.
Perry says the search for his real father continues.