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Tyler Perry is opening up about working with family.
The director, 55, appeared as a guest on the July 20 episode of YouTube series Den of Kings, where he shared with host Kirk Franklin and fellow guests Derrick Hayes and Jay “Jeezy” Jenkins a recent experience in which he hired an aunt to work for him.
“She said she wanted a job. She would always call asking for money. I said, ‘Okay,’ I would send her the money,” Perry told the group. “But then I was like, ‘Listen, I want to help you. I want to help you build this thing, not be welfare to you. So, let me give you a job.’ ”
The Madea’s Destination Wedding director and actor said his aunt ended up not coming to work. “So, I’m like, ‘Okay, well you gotta go.’ You want me to hand you the money, but you don’t want to work for it. See, that doesn’t work for me.”
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Perry continued, noting that he holds the same standards of work ethic for his 10-year-old son Aman.
“There are certain things that he wants. He has to do chores and work for it. I don’t believe in just giving us things that are just going to handicap us. That is the worst thing you can do.”
The Emmy winner also revealed that after his mother passed away in 2009, he sent letters to family members saying they needed to get a job within 60 days because he would not be financially supporting them anymore.
“Are you serious?” Franklin asked, to which Perry replied, “100%. They all got jobs.”
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Perry most recently debuted the latest film in the Madea movie franchise, Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Destination Wedding, which comes amid the 20th anniversary of the franchise overall.
Reflecting on two decades of entertaining audiences onscreen with Madea, Perry told PEOPLE, “I’m filled with a tremendous amount of pride when I think of how Madea has continuously captivated audiences throughout the years.”
“She’s meant to bring joy, laughter and comfort, and to see people are still watching and enjoying is a wonderful thing,” he added.
