Tyler Perry Defends Kim Kardashian’s ‘The Marriage Counselor’ Casting: She’s a Role Model

Tyler Perry has heard the immense criticism over his casting of Kim Kardashian in his movie, The Marriage Counselor, loud and clear. And he has taken to his personal blog to defend the decision.

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“I could not have imagined I’d be getting all these emails about Kim Kardashian. I HAVE SEEN THEM!! YOU HAVE BEEN HEARD!! …LOL,” Perry writes. “Now, may I say something? Can a brother get a word in?”

“Y’all gave me a new movie title, Tyler Perry’s ‘Diary of a Mad Black Woman Cause You Hired Kim Kardashian, Don’t Make Me Take Off My Earrings and Boycott Yo A**.’…LOL.  Some of my ladies are upset. Ok, all jokes aside, can I have my say? Will you at least here [sic] me out?”

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He explains that the movie is about a young Virginia girl, Judith (Jurnee Smolett), who meets a man (played by Robbie Jones) who “challenges everything in her life from her marriage to her husband to her faith.” Perry believed that the message of the movie needed to reach young people. So, he cast many of the roles, including Smolett, Jones, singer and actress Brandy Norwood, and Kardashian with an eye towards stars who can attract a younger audience to the film.

“About two months ago, long before I even heard about Kim’s marriage or divorce, I was trying to finish up the casting,” Perry explains. “I said to one of my producers, ‘Who else is out there that young people are looking up to?’ ”

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The producer suggested Kardashian and showed Perry photos taken by his daughter of the hordes of young people waiting in line at one of the Kardashian sisters’ retail stores, Dash.

“I thought, what better person! She literally has millions of young people following her,” he writes. “I thought and still do think, that it would be very responsible of her to be a part of this film. To have the young people that look up to her, see her in a film that is about, what happens in life when you make the wrong choices.”

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While he stressed that Kardashian’s role is not a lead, many of his critics are angered by the casting and I’m sure they’ll have issue with Perry considering her a role model for young people.

A movement to boycott Kardashian and her family’s shows has been building momentum as shown by an online petition to implore E! to stop airing the family’s shows. It has gone from 8,000 signatures to nearly 120,000 signatures in less than three days.

Email: Jethro.Nededog@thr.com; Twitter: @TheRealJethro