Tyler Perry and Marlo Hampton shocked the internet when a photo of them in a rather close embrace surfaced on social media. There’s only one catch to the photo: it was artificial intelligence.
Although Perry and Hampton both appeared at the Sea Salt SoulFull Sunday Gospel Brunch in Atlanta earlier this month and posed for a photo together, the image of the two embraced in a steamy kiss was doctored. Although no one knows exactly where that image originated, Loren Lorosa of “The Breakfast Club” confirmed that the two had never met before and the photographer for the event stated that Perry was keeping his presence low-key.
“He’s never met her before,” Lorosa said. “Tyler Perry was invited to the brunch by Jason Lee. Marlo was also at the brunch to support her best friend Catherine Brewton, which is how the two ended up in the same place. They met; she’s caught in some videos; they’re taking some photos together too, but they are not dating. That is not happening.”
She added, “I wanna make it clear. I was told by the photographer that Tyler Perry wasn’t even trying to do the photo thing. He didn’t want this to be about him. He was there to enjoy the brunch with his friend Jason Lee and all of this took a left turn.”
The brunch, which is BMI executive Catherine Brewton’s annual soiree, also featured a performance from Kirk Franklin and appearances by T.I. and Tameka “Tiny” Harris.
Perry has been rather private about his love life. He was linked to fellow filmmaker Gelila Bekele. The pair dated for 10 years before splitting and share a son together, Aman. Bekele also directed Perry’s 2023 documentary, “Maxine’s Baby: The Tyler Perry Story,” about the filmmaker’s life.
In an interview with Today, Bekele opened up on why there were no difficulties directing such a film years after she and Perry broke up.
“You follow the story,” she said, not letting their relationship cloud her vision of the film. “I think the privilege of having that front row seat for so many years gives you access, but as a filmmaker, there’s a moral integrity of wanting to sort of encompass the unknown, as well as what you already know. So a lot of research has to go into it. Also, I feel like all my other films were preparing me for this and hopefully, by my next film I’ve learned a lot from making this one.”
As far as who Perry is dating now? That is under wraps. Back in 2020, shortly after he and Bekele broke up, he took to Instagram to share that he was “single” and in the midst of a “mid-life crisis,” after posting a post-workout photo.
“I’m 51, single and wondering what the next chapter in my life will look like,” he wrote at the time. “Whatever it looks like I’m going to walk with God, be the best father and man I can be, hold my head up high, and try to look my best doing it!”
