Tyler Lepley denies he and Tyler Perry are gay on ‘Lip Service’
The 'Have and the Have Nots' and 'P-Valley' actor addressed those long-lingering rumors on Angela Yee's podcast.
Rising-star actor Tyler Lepley, who enjoys keeping his “private life private,” is clearing the air on certain whispers about it. As a guest on Angela Yee’s Lip Service, Lepley denied he is gay while also confirming Perry’s sexuality.
On a recent episode of Lip Service, a “sex and relationships” podcast helmed by Angela Yee, Lepley cleared up rumors that started circulating about him when he first started out in the business.
When asked about rumors about him “being gay” that have been spread, Lepley quickly ended any confusion on the matter with Yee and her podcast co-hosts, Gigi Maguire and Lore’l.
“I remember when I first started out, I was seeing that here and there,” he said. “For whatever reason, people were associating it with my first show.”
He is, of course, referencing his role as Benny Young on The Haves and the Have Nots, Tyler Perry’s popular drama series on OWN, currently in its eighth season. Lepley has kept the hit show stay ablaze since 2013.
His connection to the actor-writer-producer-director and successful studio owner may have started the talk, he says.
Read More: Tyler Perry’s ‘The Haves and the Have Nots’ breaks 2 million viewers
“I came out on a Tyler Perry show, and for whatever reason, he gets a rap like that,” Lepley explained, “and I know Tyler [Perry] personally, and he’s not gay. I was seen around him, and all of a sudden, ‘he’s rubbing off on me,’ and people felt like I was gay or something like that.”
Lepley is also a series regular in the new Starz show, P-Valley, which he mentions during the podcast as a potential source of those ever-present gay rumors.
Read More: ‘P-Valley’ showrunner Katori Hall dishes on season 1, diversity of the Black experience
“I had done something while I was on the set of ‘P-Valley.’ Maybe I was with Clifford or I think I was taking a picture with Alphonse, who plays Little Murda, and people started off with the gay thing again,” he said. “I think if you have a space that people can’t figure out, they can create a judgment.”
Lepley can be seen on The Haves and the Have Nots every Tuesday on OWN and on the first season of P-Valley, currently streaming on Starz.com.
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