Tyler Perry joins the rest of the world in mourning the loss of civil rights icon Nelson Mandela.
The day of Mandela’s death Perry took to Twitter saying, “There were only 3 people that I wanted to meet in life, Nelson Mandela was one of them.” The director also posted a photo of himself posing next to Mandela from a recent visit to South Africa.
During an interview with theGrio’s Chris Witherspoon, Perry talked about his new film, A Madea’s Christmas, and discussed Mandela’s impact on his career.
“As I look at his life at 95 years old, I think that it’s all about a celebration,” Perry said. “To be 95 years old, to spend twenty-seven of those years in prison, and to come out and not be bitter and rise to be the president of South Africa is unbelievable. His life speaks to the hope and the possibility of anything being possible.”
“For me, having a chance to meet him and even spend time in the cell where he was held for 27 years, and walk the yard and walk the path that he did was beyond moving and inspirational and made me want to come back and be better than I was when I left.”
Follow Chris Witherspoon on Twitter for more Entertainment news at @WitherspoonC