Appearing on Kirk Franklin\u2019s new YouTube series, King of Dens, the actor and filmmaker <\/a>\u2014 whose net worth<\/a> is estimated by Forbes <\/a>to be $1.4 billion \u2014\u00a0discussed the fine line between offering family financial support and simply giving handouts.<\/p>\n \u201cI fired my aunt,\u201d Perry, 55, said matter-of-factly, leaving the other guests, Derrick Hayes and Jay \u201cJeezy\u201d Jenkins, stunned.<\/p>\n The Madea star explained how he offered his aunt, who \u201calways called asking for money,\u201d a job. <\/p>\n \u201cI was sending the money,\u201d he recalled, \u201cand I was like, \u2018Look, I wanna help you, and I want to help you build this thing, not be welfare to you. So let me give you a job.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n But she \u201cwasn\u2019t coming in; calling in all the time,\u201d he said, which ultimately prompted him to give her the boot. <\/p>\n \u201cWell, you gotta go. Because you want me to hand you the money, but you don\u2019t wanna work for it. See that doesn\u2019t work for me,\u201d Perry added. \u201cAnd it\u2019s the same with my son. Like he\u2019s 10 years old, there are certain things that he wants; he has to do chores and work for it. I don\u2019t believe in giving us things that are just gonna handicap us.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cThat is the worst thing you can do,\u201d he insisted. \u201cAnd I\u2019ve had family members that I\u2019ve done that to because my mother has asked me to. And when she passed away in 2009, I sent all of them letters, saying, \u2018Listen, you got 60 days to become gainfully employed because I\u2019m not gonna keep supporting you like this.\u201d <\/p>\n Asked by host Franklin if he was serious, Perry said: \u201c100 percent. They all got jobs. And it wasn\u2019t even jobs where they\u2019re making a lot of money. But it was a job, it was something else for them to do to feel some pride in. It\u2019s the same thing I would want to do for me.\u201d<\/p>\n Entrepreneur Hayes jumped in to ask him if he\u2019s received any backlash from resentful family members. <\/p>\n \u201cI have a family member who got mad at me because I wouldn\u2019t give them $1 million,\u201d Perry replied. <\/p>\n Offering Hayes advice on how to draw that boundary, Perry said: \u201cIf you\u2019re trying to build a business to carry everyone in your family through, that\u2019s one thing. And if you\u2019re trying to do that, then build a business.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat that means is, you gotta watch the family members that come putting holes in the boat that you\u2019re trying to get across the sea,\u201d he clarified, using the boat as a metaphor.<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes you build a boat by yourself. \u2018Y\u2019all wait over here on the shore. Stay here. I\u2019m building this boat. I\u2019m gonna go over and build this, and then I\u2019m gonna come back and see who\u2019s worthy to come.\u2019 Because anybody who\u2019s gonna drag you down or put holes in the boat, or try to destroy you, why bring them over?\u201d Perry said. <\/p>\n![\"Tyler](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Tyler-Perry.png\")
Tyler Perry appeared on YouTube series ‘Den of Kings’ where he opened up about cutting off his family from his finances (Kirk Franklin\/YouTube)<\/p>\n