The Hollywood Reporter has named American media mogul Tyler Perry, recipient of the 2020 Oprah Winfrey Empowerment Award. Oprah was the first to receive her namesake THR honorary award last year in Los Angeles.
“I’m honored to be recognized with this award, named after the woman who was instrumental in helping me forge my own path in Hollywood,” said Perry. “Oprah has been a North Star for me as well as countless others.”
The Empowerment Award is given to an individual who has created opportunities for people of color, women, members of the LGBTQ community and the next generation of the entertainment industry.
In account of Tyler’s remarkable achievements with his television and film craft as well as philanthropic endeavors, Oprah audibly regards him as an industry force that embodies the Empowerment Award.
“I am so deeply proud of the ways that Tyler Perry has created opportunities of inclusion for so many people in entertainment through all of his work. He is a self-taught, self-sustaining, self-made industry force that embodies the Empowerment Award,” said Oprah.
Perry has over the years contributed to the success story of the black community in Hollywood, delivering blockbuster cinema titles such as; ‘Acrimony’, ‘Why Did I Get Married?’, ‘Daddy’s Little Girls’, ‘The Family That Preys’, ‘I Can Do Bad All By Myself’ and many others. In October last year, Perry mounted a 330-acre Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, one of the largest studios in the United States. In it has 12 soundstages, with each one named after an African American regarded of high rank by the black community and the world at large.
Perry’s involvement with philanthropic works also has him running ‘The Perry Foundation’, specially aimed at transforming tragedy into triumph by investing in individual potential, supporting communities and harvesting sustainable change. According to THR, the foundation partners with more than 30 organizations across education, sustainability, agriculture, health, human rights, technology, arts and culture and economic development.
“Tyler Perry epitomizes the characteristics of the Oprah Winfrey Empowerment Award, with not only what he gives back to the industry but in how he models what you can achieve,” said THR editorial director Matthew Belloni. “And we extend our gratitude to Oprah for her generosity in lending her name and contribution to this honor.”
The gala will be held on May 6 inside Los Angeles, with follow-up dedicated THR issue that spotlights entertainment’s leaders of change. Oprah will personally hand Perry the award.
