Prince Harry & Meghan Markle Have Found a Very Hollywood Way To Thank Tyler Perry for His Support

When Meghan Markle and Prince Harry needed a friend during the most stressful time of their lives, Tyler Perry came through in a big way. As the borders were closing down due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, the Hollywood mogul opened his Beverly Hills home to them after they exited the royal family and needed to get out of Canada. Now, the Sussexes have found a way to repay him for his generosity.

Tom Cruise Proved That He's a Royal Family Fan to the End After Enthusiastic Kate Middleton Greeting

The duo, along with Whoopi Goldberg, Taraji P. Henson, Gayle King, Kerry Washington, and other Hollywood executives, will be mounting a huge celebration in honor of Perry’s successful career as a part of the Paley Honors Tribute Host Committee. The Paley Honors gala will take place on Dec. 4 at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, and it sounds like the Diary of a Mad Black Woman creator is grateful for the tribute.

“Throughout my career, I have strived to bring people together and to give a voice to those often underrepresented in media,” he said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. “ Media has served as a vital platform for this mission, and I’m honored to receive this award from The Paley Center for Media, an organization that has dedicated itself to spotlighting the power and importance of media.”

Perry, who was featured in the couple’s Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan , explained on the Let’s Talk Off Camera With Kelly Ripa podcast in November 2023 why he helped the couple. After sending them a message for their 2018 wedding, the filmmaker “got the tremendous sense” that the Duchess of Sussex was in an “overwhelming” situation. He offered them help if they ever needed it, and she took him up on his generosity when the palace rift and a pandemic reached a fever pitch.

“It is very important for people in this business to have a safe place to land, to have a place where they can trust and talk freely and get advice that’s not going to be biased or from somebody who wants something from them,” he said. Harry and Meghan have since named him godfather to their daughter , Princess Lilibet, 3, and they’ve remained in close contact.

“We needed a house, and he offered security as well, ” Meghan said with gratitude in her March 2021 Oprah Winfrey interview. “So, it gave us breathing room to try to figure out what we are going to do.” Perry’s last-minute assistance led to Harry and Meghan and their young family’s fresh start in the U.S. — it was the beginning of their happily ever after.

Click here to see Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s complete relationship timeline.