Hollywood film mogul Tyler Perry has provided a curious response when asked about his friendship with Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, and her husband, Prince Harry.
The 55-year-old filmmaker is worth a reported $1.4 billion (£1.1 billion) thanks to his range of film studios and other business ventures. When former Suits star Meghan, 43, and her husband Harry, 40, moved to California in the summer of 2020, they famously borrowed one of Tyler's giant mansions as a place to stay while they planted their own roots.
The close friendship was also explored in Meghan and Harry's 2022 Netflix documentary series - where it was revealed the couple had not known the movie businessman before they asked to borrow one of his homes. It was revealed that Tyler had also offered the couple the use of his private jet and security team while they got settled.
Footage showed Meghan expressing her appreciation for Tyler's kindness, confessing she burst into tears, and she said that she found it easier to "open up to someone who knows nothing at all" about her. However, Tyler has now expressed a hint of frustration that conversations about Meghan can at times overshadow all else.
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Netflix)Speaking to The Times, Tyler was asked how he helped Harry and Meghan prepare for their move to America, and he revealed the "conversational intimacy evaporat[ed]". He then went on to explain that Meghan was from California originally, so had no need to prepare for any change.
The Why Did I Get Married? actor then said: "But I will say this: what I learnt about mentioning them — because there’s this insatiable appetite to know all about them — is that any question that is asked becomes the headline of anything I say." Tyler has been revealed to be the godfather of Meghan and Harry's daughter, Lilibet, and has gushed about her in the past.
Opening up on the Let’s Talk Off-Camera With Kelly Ripa podcast last year, the star revealed he refers to his goddaughter as Little Lili. He gushed: “She’s so adorable. Oh, she’s so beautiful. She’s just so beautiful.”
Throwing attention and affection on Meghan and Harry and both of their children, including son Archie, Tyler continued: “They make beautiful babies—that’s all I’ll say. They make some beautiful kids. Archie and Lili are beautiful.”
And, elsewhere during that chat, he also shared that Meghan had leant on him for support during her 2020 move. He revealed: “I got the tremendous sense of how overwhelming it all was for her. I got the sense that—listen, I know what it’s like to have a father who is not great, so seeing some of the things he was doing, I felt that she was very much isolated and alone.”
He added: “I wanted to be a safe place—not only for her, but you know, there are many people who don’t have a name or are not a part of a royal family who just need somebody to be there for them.”
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