Tyler Perry's Frugal Christmas Gifts to His Son Causes Controversy: 'I Worked, He Did Not'

Tyler Perry is not spoiling his kid.

The film mogul appeared on Sherri Shepherd's daytime talk show, Sherri, where the pair discussed their children's Christmas lists.

"Did he give you his Christmas list? It's coming up..." Shepherd asked Perry, referring to his one son, Aman Perry, whom he welcomed with his then-partner Gelila Bekele in November 2014.

"He don't get no Christmas list... he gets two things... books and Legos," Perry answered before the audience audibly gasped. "He don't have a job, what else is he going to get?"

Perry elaborated about his strict parenting, sharing how his son "was complaining once about five years ago. He was complaining about flying commercial, because the lines were so long. [...] [He] had been going coach for years."

"You let your son go coach?" Shepherd asked, seemingly shocked.

"Absolutely, so that he can understand I worked — he did not. So when he works, he can learn that lesson. He's not gonna be one of those ridiculous spoiled, rich kids. I can't stand that. No. He ain't got no money."

Shepherd, 57, agreed, referencing her own son who flys in the back of the plane while she enjoys first class.

Perry also agreed, saying that "Until Jeffrey [Shepherd's son] gets enough money to fly his own 2A... 36D [it is]."

"We are there!" Shepherd replied, understanding the theater mogul's point of view.

However, some were not impressed with Perry's parenting decisions.

"Passing on the struggle mindset instead of putting your children in positions to want and expect more. Hmmm," one Instragram user commented.

"Is it possible to spoil them and they still come out to be a decent human 🤔," another comment reads.

But he also received supportive comments as well.

"He's raising his son not to be entitled and if you want something earn it," one Instagram user praised.

On November 30, 2014, Bekele, a filmmaker and activist, gave birth to her and Perry's son, Aman.

Aman means "peace," and also represents "the true meaning of Thanksgiving, and of course the holiday season," per an insider close to Perry, who told PEOPLE shortly after Aman's birth.

"I have traveled the world trying to find the peace that I have when I'm holding my sleeping son in my arms. God thank you," the Madea creater wrote in an Instagram caption back in January 2015. "Amen for Aman. He's beautiful!!"

Perry and his child's mother has kept their son largely out of the limelight. Few photos of Aman are available online, and neither parent posts Aman on their social media accounts.

"I think, when you have a team like Gelila and I are, she is very grounded and balanced at making sure he stays that way. Because I want to give him everything, because I didn't have it," the New Orleans native told Gayle King during a Tribeca Film Festival Q&A in 2022.

Perry, 55, whose films and shows have cumulatively grossed over $660 million, with a whopping net worth of an estimated $1 billion — making him one of the richest people in entertainment — says he wants his son to "know what it's like to have his own name and his own life and not have the pressure of trying to live up to whatever or whoever your father was."

In December 2020, Perry announced that he was a single bachelor.

Tags

Tyler Perry, Celebrity parents, Sherri shepherd