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Tyler Perry’s got a heart of gold.
Gospel singer LaShun Pace has got a real friend until the end with the filmmaker who gifted her ailing momma with her own home. And not just any old piece of property either. Perry bought Pace’s mother Bettie a $350,000 house to fulfill her dying wish to be a homeowner and have a permanent place for her family to live in Atlanta.
In a video obtained by TMZ, Pace showed off her momma’s new digs as she cut the red ribbon and family celebrated behind her.
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“Tyler Perry, thank you son,” Bettie said. “Thank you for the house. God bless you.”
“Now you see what happens when you just live right and become Tyler Perry’s friend,” LaShun Pace said at the end of the recording.
Pace once worked with the “Madea” star and starred in his stage play back in 1999 and the two remained fast friends since then. Word is, when Perry heard that Pace’s elderly mother was sick he did what he does best and fulfilled her dreams, like the fairy godfather he’s known to be.
Generous Spirit
Just last month Geoffrey Owens went from bagging groceries at Trader Joe’s to securing the bag as a new member on Perry’s hit TV show after the filmmaker offered the former Cosby Show actor a job when he was shamed for doing honest work.
When photos of Owens ringing up customers at the grocery chain went viral with insulting headlines, several celebrities stepped up in Owens’ defense. One of them was Tyler Perry, who helms the OWN network’s highest rated show, The Haves and Have Nots.
#GeoffreyOwens I’m about to start shootings OWN’s number one drama next week! Come join us!!! I have so much respect for people who hustle between gigs. The measure of a true artist.
— Tyler Perry (@tylerperry) September 4, 2018
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Around the exact same time that Perry tweeted that offer, Owens was on Good Morning America with Robin Roberts graciously saying that he would prefer to have opportunities to audition rather than have jobs handed to him as a result of this situation. Owens had to quit his job at Trader Joe’s because the new-found attention made it impossible to perform his duties.
Owens responded in an interview with Entertainment Tonight.
“That was kind of cool,” Owens told Entertainment Tonight. “I mean, that kind of sounded like he was saying, ‘Come work with me.’ I’m so, like, skeptical. Like, really? Are you actually saying come work with me? Because we’ve never worked together before. So, that’s a very, very generous thing for him to say. And we’ll see what happens with that. But, that’s encouraging.”
One prickly factor? Owens has never watched any of Tyler Perry’s television work.
“This is going to sound funny. I’m not a TV watcher,. “Never have been. I remember the day that my first Cosby show aired back in ’85! I didn’t even… I barely owned a television,” Owens admitted. “We had to borrow my brother’s TV and set it up. It was this little, dinky thing with the satellite, the little rabbit ears and stuff, in order to watch my first show. I’ve never been a television watcher.”