Tyler Perry was unexpectedly brought to tears on this morning’s episode of The View while talking about his late mother Maxine.
While discussing Maxine’s Baby: The Tyler Perry Story — a new documentary about the comedian’s life that was named after his mom — Sara Haines praised Perry for the way he shows by example, before adding that she “met” Maxine through watching the film.
“Wait a minute,” Perry chimed in with tears in his eyes. “That one took me — oh, that. Woah, how did it hit me that hard? You met my mother through it? Man. That’s — wow. Thank you. Oh, my god.”
The Madea’s Family Reunion star tried his hardest to hold back crying, though his voice continued to crack as he thanked Haines for her comments. The actor even got censored at one point for cursing.
“To say that you met her through that, that takes me somewhere because she, you know, this woman endured so much pain,” Perry explained. “And she didn’t have some legacy but she had me and to say that I was able to introduce her to you, you got me there, man. I’m sorry. [Expletive]. Lord have mercy. Thank you for that. I appreciate that.”
Haines attempted to shift the conversation to a topic about Perry’s “violent” and “painful” childhood. However, he couldn’t get over what she had said about his mother.
“I’m sorry, guys. [Expletive],” he said through tears. “You met my mother through the documentary. You really got me there. I’m sorry. I need to get myself together.”
Instead of moving on to the next question, Haines urged him to talk more about his mother.
“I just imagine a woman who’s lived her entire life with so much pain and she was always worried about everybody else,” Perry said. “I watched her get sick, I watched her get cancer, I watched her have all of these things because her intention was, ‘Are you happy? Are you OK?’ She never put herself on the list and she never thought she was important and she never thought anybody would care.”
He continued, “So to say that this documentary that Gelila [Bekele] and Armani [Ortiz] did about my life introduces her to the world, that moves me because she was very much that special to me.”
Finally ready to move on, Perry told the panel, “I know there are other questions, so please ask me something else.”
The View airs on weekdays at 11/10c on ABC.