Hollywood has often been criticized for its lack of consistently available roles for black actresses. As a producer actively creating roles for African-American women, Tyler Perry has a clear opinion on where that criticism comes from -- and it really is quite simple, he says.
In an interview with Oprah for "Oprah's Next Chapter," Tyler says it all comes down to the writers' unique perspectives. Using himself as an example, Tyler explains how his perspective has led him to create roles for African-Americans.
"For me, I'm telling stories from my own life and in my own life, there are lots of black women," Tyler tells Oprah. "You write about what you know."
"So, there just need to be more writers," Oprah posits.
Tyler says yes and adds that he doesn't feel that the lack of roles for African-Americans comes down to any hidden Hollywood agenda. "I just feel like the storytellers are telling stories that don't necessarily include a lot of us," Tyler says. "We need more storytellers and more people in power to give the strength to those storytellers to be able to tell those stories."
"Oprah's Next Chapter" airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on OWN.
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