As a producer/writer/director/actor has found success in both TV (he created Meet the Browns and House of Payne) and the movies (Why Did I Get Married Too? And For Colored Girls both hit big screens in 2010) and it earned him $130 million and a #19 ranking.
Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for The Steve Harvey FoundationTyler Perry has a few choice words for Jerry Sandusky.
The Hollywood Renaissance man — who boasts actor, director, writer and producer on his resume – penned an open letter to one of Sandusky’s of alleged sexual abuse victims. In the letter, published by Newsweek Magazine, Perry offers his words of encouragement to the boy as he recalls his own dark past, and refers to the former Penn State coach as a “coward and very sick individual.”
VIDEO: Even Satan Offended by Penn State Scandal on ‘SNL’
“I don’t know your name, but I know your face. I don’t know your journey, but I know where you are. I am your brother!” the letter begins. “I must tell you, what you have done is so courageous. The strength that it must have taken for your 11-year-old voice to speak out about such a horrible act is something that I didn’t have the strength or courage to do at that age.”
Perry then details his experiences growing up in New Orleans, as he became the victim of molestation. He also chides the adults, alluding to ousted Penn State coach Joe Paterno, who knew of the incidents and neglected to speak up.
VIDEO: Ex-Penn State Coach Jerry Sandusky Breaks Silence on Sex Scandal
“Do you know that at the young age of 11 you had more courage than all the adults who let you down? All of the ones who didn’t go to the proper authorities, all of the ones who were worried about their careers, reputations, or livelihoods,” he says. “All of the ones who didn’t want to get involved. Or even the ones who tried to convince your mother not to fight. You are stronger than them all! I wonder what they would have done if it were their own child.”
Sandusky, who has been charged with 40 counts of sexual abuse against children, recently spoke with Bob Costas to proclaim his innocence. “I have horsed around with kids. I have showered after workouts. I have hugged them and I have touched their leg. Without intent of sexual contact,” he said.
In the likely event that the case goes to trial, Perry assures the unidentified boy that there are “millions of young boys and grown men standing with you.”
“Now fight on, my young friend, fight on!” he says. Read the full letter here.
