Oprah and Tyler Perry have been friends for years and he only features his shows on her OWN channel but now insiders claim the bffs are bumping heads and no longer friends…
According to The Daily Mail
Things grew tense with the pair late last summer when 62-year-old Winfrey suggested Perry hire some additional script writers to help develop his shows, particularly the top-rated drama The Have and the Have Nots.
She shared with him research from focus groups and the general consensus from executives at the company was that the writing could be ‘improved significantly.’
‘That’s when Oprah finally got to see a side of Tyler she hadn’t experienced yet. He resisted her feedback, the same way he resists the feedback of critics and media people who chastise his work, and became extremely defensive with her.
‘He told her, “Aren’t the shows delivering ratings for the network? Well, then let me do what I do and you can keep your focus group research to yourself”,’ reveals the source.
The professional squabble caused the two to stop communicating as much personally.
‘Gone were the days of them having long phone conversations and texting late into the night.’
But things went from bad to worse when Winfrey caught wind of a feature story on Perry in the December 28, 2015 issue of New York Magazine. With a headline that read: ‘The Brand Keeping Oprah in Business.’
Winfrey was outraged by the narrative presented in the article, especially because she conceded to be interviewed for the piece.
‘She knows Tyler is a micromanaging control freak and she felt that he was aware of the story’s title and didn’t make sure it was killed.
‘She believed it was done in spite and has told Gayle and her other close friends, she’s putting space between she and Tyler,’ says the source.
During the 2015 Christmas holiday, Winfrey took her longtime boyfriend Stedman Graham, best friend Gayle King and her two children, Hollywood director Ava DuVernay, actor David Oyelowo and his wife and children – along with her niece for a vacation together in Fiji.
However, absent from the trip was her regular vacation buddy, Perry.
‘She just didn’t want him there. She is not happy with the place their friendship is in and decided she didn’t want any awkward moments on vacation,’ the source says.
‘Perry did however have a massive bouquet of flowers delivered to their residence in Fiji on Gayle’s birthday.’
During press rounds to promote the new season of The Have and the Have Nots in New York earlier this month, Perry told attendees at a private press dinner: ‘I need to clear up that New York Magazine headline.
‘I’m not keeping Oprah in business. She was in business long before I was even doing I am doing and she was success before I was working in entertainment, so I just needed to say that.’
