Tyler Perry Talks Importance of Creating Controversial Christian Character for 'The Haves And The Have Nots'
Tyler Perry set out to make a character that was a controversial Christian in his hit OWN Network show, "The Haves and the Have Nots."
Perry,45, created the character Hanna Young as a Christian woman with a past full of promiscuity and a lot of unforgiveness and issues that result because of it. However, he recently spoke with the cast of his show and had a conversation with actress Crystal Fox about playing one of the most controversial characters he has ever created.
"You are one of the most controversial characters I have ever written because she's Christian," Perry told Fox, according to Eurweb.com reports. "And lots of people, man. They are giving you, 'What kind of Christian does not talk to their daughter? What kind of Christian does not tell her daughter where her son is?'"
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However, Perry explained why he wanted to create Hanna for the show.
"I did not want to write the perfect Christian—because I don't know any. There was only one, and it was Jesus," Perry said. "But on this earth, I feel like people have put so much emphasis on trying to be perfect that nobody wants to strive or even look towards Christianity. Everybody's looking at everything else because the image of it is that you have to be perfect, which is not so. It is not so."
He continued, "it is a process, it is about being the best you can be, and being as strong as you can be to grow through whatever you're going through."
In an interview with Beliefnet.com almost a decade ago, Perry spoke about the importance of his Christian faith.
"It is extremely important. I am a Christian, I am a believer, and I know had I not been a person of faith, I couldn't be here in this place, and I wouldn't be walking the path that I'm on now," Perry said. "And I think the greater good of the path I'm on now is to teach people to learn to forgive and move on, in a way that's done through the healing power of humor."
