On Saturday night, Tyler Perry made Atlanta come to be known as ‘Black Hollywood’ as he opened a sprawling 330-acre namesake studio in the Fort McPherson area that drew just about every major African-American star. The gala event was attended by a bevy of Black celebrities, including groundbreaking black artists who were given a special tribute by Perry that included Oprah Winfrey, Denzel Washington, Spike Lee, Will Smith, Halle Berry, Sidney Poitier, Whoopi Goldberg, Cicely Tyson, and Harry Belafonte.
The opening was a star-studded affair as well and was attended by celebs such as Oprah Winfrey, Beyoncé, her husband Jay-Z, Cicely Tyson, Sidney Poitier, Viola Davis, Samuel L. Jackson, director Ava DuVernay, and political heavyweights like John Lewis, Stacey Abrams, and Bill and Hillary Clinton. The studio has several soundstages and each is named after legends like the late Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis, Della Reese, John Singleton, and Diahann Carroll, who died Friday, one day before the ceremony.
The studio opened by Perry is a massive achievement for a Black artist as Hollywood is predominantly run by studios owned and controlled by White men. In a moving speech at the BET Awards in June, Perry had revealed the historic significance of his studio’s lot that was once a Confederate Army base. He has said, “We all get to stand here equally—black, white, whatever—this is the American dream.”
Several celebrities posted moving tributes and congratulatory notes on Perry's achievement. Beyoncé shared a heartfelt message for Perry on Instagram in which she wrote that she “could not stop crying” at the gala. Kelly Rowland, Lance Gross, Halle Berry, Michelle Williams also posted fitting tributes and best wishes for Perry on Instagram. Check them out below.
With the studio, Perry has become the first black person to own a film and TV studio of this magnitude. He had purchased the former 330-acre Fort McPherson military base in 2015 for $30 million which is now converted into the studio.
(Source: Instagram/IndieWire/Vanity Fair/The Hollywood Reporter)
