Radar: Rihanna rejects Tyler Perry role, says his ‘films are for fading black stars’

Rihanna

Rihanna has been pretty quiet lately. She’s stayed out of the headlines lately other than her low-key relationship with Drake. Whenever she goes back “on” with Drake, Rihanna immediately halts her attention grabbing antics. She dresses down and claims to become “a square.”

None of that is important right now. Let’s recall the actress vibe that Rihanna was pushing a few years ago when she shot Battleship. Critics trashed the movie, and it did not score enough cash to recoup its production and publicity budgets. A new report from Radar Online says Rihanna still fancies herself an actress. Radar says Rihanna has rejected Tyler Perry’s professional advances because she doesn’t consider him capable of boosting her acting profile. The late Whitney Houston somehow figures into RiRi’s decision. Hmm:

Rihanna is plotting her next movie role but is avoiding director Tyler Perry, who wants the singer to star in one of his romantic comedies, RadarOnline.com has learned.

And a big reason why is that the late Whitney Houston once warned her that Perry’s films were for African-American has-beens! a source told Radar.

“Although Tyler has been courting Rihanna for a year and a half, hoping to build a movie around her, she has rejected the idea,” a source close to the star’s business affairs told RadarOnline.com.

“Rihanna has pointedly avoided meeting with him!”

According to the source, before Houston’s tragic death in 2012, Rihanna, 26, met her at a party and got her take on Perry’s movies, which include the Madea series, Why Did I Get Married? and the recent Single Moms Club.

“Whitney put her off Tyler by warning her bluntly that ‘Tyler’s films are for fading black stars, not rising ones,’” the source said.

“Rihanna so respected Whitney because in addition to being one of the biggest pop stars ever, she starred in hit movies such as The Bodyguard.”

And Rihanna, also a multi-talented star, feels it will be better for her career to do something similar to the 2012 science fiction war film Battleship, for which she received glowing reviews, the source said.

“She’s ruling out doing a Tyler Perry-style romantic comedy because she thinks she works better in action roles, playing the tough girl.”

The source revealed Rihanna is “under a mandate” to get into another studio film before the end of the year.

But sadly for Atlanta-based mogul Perry, 44, it won’t be for him!

[From Radar Online]

I lean towards believing this story simply because Tyler Perry cast Kim Kardashian in one of his recent movies, and everyone (except Anna Wintour) realizes that Kim K. is a joke. Rihanna may not perform any better than any Kardashian in the acting department, but I believe that Rihanna judges Kim like crazy. Rihanna has also shown her own racism on prior occasions.

I am concerned about the “mandate” that Rihanna must satisfy. Is her management telling her to book another studio film this year? Rihanna has already recorded seven albums in the past nine years. She’s scored 53 singles during that time. She is still currently managed by Jay-Z, right? If this story is true, then Jay needs to give this girl a break.

Tyler Perry

Rihanna

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet & WENN

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70 Responses to “Radar: Rihanna rejects Tyler Perry role, says his ‘films are for fading black stars’”

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  1. bns says:

    I don’t believe this, but I wish it were true. I hate Tyler Perry, so this would just make me love her even more.

    • GoodNamesAllTaken says:

      He is exploitive and so not funny. I think it’s a good move on her part. But you think it’s made up?
      Does she ever take a bad picture? She is so beautiful.

      • bns says:

        Yes @ him being exploitative. And I hate the way he portrays women in his movies.

        And she is honestly one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen. People can say what they want about her, but she is damn beautiful.

      • MonicaQ says:

        Seriously, it’s the SAME plot, every time.

        *”Good” woman that believes in Jesus has “crappy” man.
        *”Crappy” man cheats/leaves with “Godless hussy” or drugs.
        *”Good” woman struggles but meets “Good” man because Jesus.
        *”Crappy” man has something terrible happen to him.
        *”Good” woman takes care of him/forgives him. Because Jesus.
        *”Good” woman and “Good” man ride off happily into sunset.
        *Add troubled kids, Maya Angelou quotes, more Jesus, and Tyler Perry in drag attempting to beat someone’s arse.

        I’m not Anti-Religious (though I claim no affiliation) and know my race is pretty religious to start with, but can we have some character development other than “she saw the light”? How about a female character that is strong in her own right? And yes, my grandma has had her Madea moments (she stabbed my grandpa. They laughed about it later.) but the stereotyping is just painful.

      • Hiddles forever says:

        @GoodNamesAllTaken

        I was wondering the same. She is strikingly beautiful even in some selfies….maybe she doesn’t go out at all if she has a bad day….

      • QQ says:

        You forgot the following tropes Monica

        Good Man is Lightskinned
        Bad Girls (who enjoys sex!) gets AIDS
        bad Lacefronts on men and Women

        I for one would Huzzah If she really did that!

      • Side-Eye says:

        @QQ right at the good men always being light skinned. He’s so tacky. A very good black director is Steve McQueen but aside from 12 Years A Slave his movies aren’t really race focused-which I personally like since he treats them like regular characters. For instance the relationship between Fassbebder and Beharie in Shame. There was never any emphasis on her being black just her being a lady.

      • FLORC says:

        Ok
        I might be the minority and a bit ignorant to all of this…. But after my time living in the deep south his plots seem to be ripped straight out of their lives.

        *Woman marries to be tken care of or just because.
        *Woman in unhappy relationship.
        *Woman throws herself back to her faith/church/friends
        *Woman finds new man in a stella got her groove back kind of way.

        He’s not making this stuff up is my point.

        And My big fat greek wedding, was exploitive.
        I’m not seeing the difference here and why all the Tyler Perry hate. Please explain.

      • Xas says:

        FLORC, yes, it’s true that some of these topics happen in real life. That’s not the point. The point is how Tyler Perry uses those topics in each of his films and making terrible movies with full stereotypes and bad stories. And the worst aspect is making profite prevailing the bad aspects of the African American culture

    • Omega says:

      Tyler Perrys movies are offensive to me on soooooo many levels. Having said that, Whitney would have an axe to grind given that she and Janet Jackson had long running beef and Janet had become Tylers mascot or something. She wasnt wrong but I can see why she would have extra “motivation” to make that statement.

      • Delorb says:

        I’ve never seen any of his movies, but they do look bad from the previews, but I agree with you about Whitney. How can one seriously take the advice of a crackhead? You’d think a smart person would do the opposite of whatever they said. I mean, look at her daughter, Bobbi. I don’t think she finished high school and is probably proud of it. That’s not someone who I’d listen to.

    • Eleanor Zissou says:

      I only saw Why Did I Get Married and that one was okay. Is he really that bad?
      The one thing I noticed in that movie was that all the black people were very very successfull, ehich you rarely see in other movies featuring black actors.

      • bns says:

        Watch “Daddy’s Little Girls”, “For Colored Girls”, and “Temptation”, and then you’ll have a better perspective. And those are only three movies of his among many others. He’s a mess.

    • I Choose Me says:

      Yas! Friends and family are always trying to get me to watch his movies and I have watched a couple of them starting with Diary of a Mad Black Woman which I hated. I hate the stereotypes, the come to Jesus moments and the trite, bland formula that all his movies seem to possess.

  2. paola says:

    I judge Kim too and I’m no actress or a singer. You can tell what you want about Rihanna but she is very committed to her job and she rarely f*cks about when it’s ‘work time’. I think Kim’s fame is a big slap in the face for every working person in the show biz.
    Me being a nasty bitch in my non famous life I’d be a bigger bitch in a famous life and I would always side eye kim considering her a glorified pron star for eva and eva. Even if she’s been on vogue. Which at this point means jackshit.

    • GoodNamesAllTaken says:

      Lol, paola, you are nice! Admit it. Even nice people give side-eye to Kim, for good reason.

      • paola says:

        Yeah i am very very nice. I just hate people getting attention with no merit. I have the tendency to judge people (bad paola, bad) who are lucky enough to be succesfull without doing anything to deserve that success.

      • GoodNamesAllTaken says:

        Right. Especially when they have the enormous ass of lies attached!

      • Hiddles forever says:

        Paola, I agree with everything you said!

      • FLORC says:

        GoodNames
        Didn’t Pippa TradeMark “Ass Of Lies”…? Can’t go throwing that term around!

      • GoodNamesAllTaken says:

        Oh, right, FLORC, sorry Pippa. I was confusing the asses.lol

    • FLORC says:

      Paola

      Lots and lots of your favorite movie stars and celebs got their start in pron. There’s such a double standard here. Yes, Kim is not talented, yet she makes oodles of money.
      I say everyone is just vicious to a woman who’s clearly been raised by an abusive mother who’s warped her mind and body. But Kim isn’t relying on anyone else for her money.

      I really don’t get the Kim hate. So, can someone please, poitely explain why she’s body shamed and attacked so often here when it sounds like everyone only pays attention to her so they can fuel their own hate? Goodnames. I trust your opinions so i’d prefer you.

      • Delorb says:

        Its one thing to get your start the way she did, its quite another to buy into the notion that you didn’t. Its one thing to parade your huge fake ass around to all the paparazzi when you’re trying to get your name out. Its another when you ask the paparazzi to stop taking photos of said ass, now that you’re ‘famous’.

        So its her hypocrisy that upsets some people. That Snowden girl gets props because she owns her tackiness. Same is true of Kendra. It seems that in Kim’s mind she can sing, dance and act, while in reality she can do none of that.

        Did you see her on Dancing with the Stars? I did. She basically stood there, while her pro danced around her. No rhythm, no self-awareness. Just blank.

      • GoodNamesAllTaken says:

        Oh, thanks, FLORC. I agree that other celebrities have gotten their start in porn (Vanessa Williams comes to mind) but they maintained their fame through talent or they faded away. Kim has no talent other than shopping, and doesn’t do anything except take selfies and stare vacantly into space for paps. I think if she had grown and moved on, so would everyone else.

        I don’t think people would ever, ever body shame her if she hadn’t gotten those ridiculous butt implants and then insisted her rear was natural, and if she didn’t constantly lie about her size. She brings it on herself.

        I think she is a walking, talking example of what people don’t like about the world we live in today. She is shallow, greedy, willing to do absolutely anything for money, vain and dishonest. She has made a mockery of marriage with her fake 30 day televised for millions wedding. She’s about to sell her third wedding to E and have a huge, tacky affair with Kanye, who is a whole subject unto himself.

        Add to that her self-proclaimed status as a fashion icon coupled with her absolutely atrocious taste, and I think what you end up with is a pretty unlikeable person. I don’t hate her, but I DO hate that she’s American and that people from other countries think she represents what America is about.

        Truthfully, I didn’t start reading about Kim until about 6 months ago, and I have always thought of her as an adult. I didn’t think of what she may have suffered growing up with her horrid mother. Maybe I will try to see her with more compassion now, but I honestly can’t think of a single nice thing to say about her except that she has a pretty face. Or did, until she had too much plastic surgery. Which she lied about. I’ll try.

    • Tatjana says:

      I don’t think I judge reality stars. The public exploits them as much as they exploit the public. They seem like modern day circus bears. Yes, it was their choice and they get paid a lot.
      We mock them, laugh at them, look down on them. Most of them have self-esteem issues and are generally pretty f-ed up- Maybe they were like that to begin with, but being in the public eye sure enhaces that. Does the money outweigh all the bad things? I don’t know.
      I think Ryan Seacrest or whatshisname is the real bad guy, making huge money while we laugh at Kim Kardashian.

      FLORC – I’ve just seen your comment after I typed mine and I agree.

  3. PunkyMomma says:

    I want to believe this too. The only person who really benefits from being in a Tyler Perry movie is Tyler Perry. Besides, since Tyler likes to put his name everywhere, she would become “Tyler Perry’s Rihanna”.

  4. Luca26 says:

    Tyler Perry movies are bottom of the barrell entertainment. It’s sad how many good black actors have done his films because there isn’t much work for them in mainstream Hollywood.

    But Rihanna isn’t necessarily in a position to be choosy when it comes to acting roles.

    • qwerty says:

      MTE…the only good thing about him is that he gives work to black actors. It’s sad though that they have to work with such a terrible director.

    • njk says:

      At least there is work for them thanks to Tyler Perry. I don’t understand why black people badmouth the way Whitney Houston did. She was the butt of many jokes that WERE NOT being told by her own race. She was a fine one to give any advice. Loved her and her music but maybe she shoud have listened to people whispering in her ear about her own problem.

  5. We Are All Made of Stars says:

    Did she really receive good reviews for the movie? I’ve never even heard of it.

    • Vanessa says:

      I highly doubt it. She’s not a good actress. I saw the movie, I can’t imagine anyone giving her a better compliment than “she’s not that bad”.

    • Kimberly says:

      Yes, she even won an award. A Razzie Award.

    • Xas says:

      Even when she won a Razzie -Let’s be honest, part of the reason of the award came for who is she- and yes the film is really bad, Rihanna was one of the highlights -And some of big critics in NYC and LA are agree with that-. Not “exactly” a great film debut, but comparing to the lackuster performances of Taylor Kitsch -If he can’t impress in “The Normal Heart”, I started to believe his Tim Riggins was mostly a fluke- and Brooklyn Decker -Again a model- as leads, Rihanna was better.

      But again, the film was idiotic LOL.

  6. kimber says:

    Maybe she said it…maybe not….idk.
    tyler perry needs someone relevant since his movies are kinda stale.

    I like Rhianna…Yeah she has issues…but she puts out great music.

  7. Loopy says:

    Tyler Perry’s movies are always the same plot line and yes like someone said black actors take these roles because of limited opportunities. I could not believe Angela Bassett has starred in a Tyler Perry movie.

    • V4Real says:

      But I don’t agree that Tyler Perry’s movies are where Black actors career goes to die. Kerry Washington, Taraji P. Henson, Gabrielle Union, Idris Elba, Sofia Vergara and Viola Davis career seems to still be going strong.

      I’ll give him this, at least he’s in a position to hire Black talent, since Hollywood studio execs and producers are not beating down their doors like they do with Aniston who’s talent is mediocre IMO

      On a different note I used to say the same thing about Lifetime. Lifetime Network is where an actress career goes to die.

  8. Joy says:

    I know I’ll probably get assaulted for being a meanie but Whitney torpedoed her career with crack shenanigans. Not exactly someone to take career advice from. Does he make good movies? No. Do I need anyboy to tell me that? No.

    • lucy2 says:

      That was my first thought too – Whitney was incredibly talented and gorgeous and at one point had an amazing career, but maybe was not the best person to give out advice in the time Rihanna would have known her. Though that particular advice wasn’t really wrong.

  9. GeeMoney says:

    If I were a black actor in Hollywood, I’d rather jump off a cliff than be in a Tyler Perry movie. But damn, at least someone out in H-town is employing black people. Can’t really say that about the big studios.

    I really wish Perry would focus on developing good characters and making better films instead of just making films. It would do wonders for his credibility, and perhaps he just might even get Rihanna to sign on for something.

    PS – Oh, and thank God Halle Berry hasn’t gotten desperate enough to do his films (knock on wood).

  10. Ladyray says:

    And? She definitely should. Tyler’s movies suck.

    A request: can we get more Rihanna coverage on this site? Her relationship with Drake is pretty interesting.

  11. Cassandra_J says:

    All I know is my family loves Battleship my daughter especially loved Rihanna in it…then again our last name is Hopper so that probably had a lot to do with it

  12. eliza says:

    There was ONE Tyler Perry movie I kind of liked with Kathy Bates.

  13. Grant says:

    Did she lie though? Tyler Perry’s movies are terrible.

  14. Kimberly says:

    I think she’s very pretty and would be a great model, but I don’t see her as an actress. She would have already become a big movie star if she had it, she’s been popular for years.

  15. barbie says:

    I don’t like Tyler Perry movies much either but he keeps a lot of people acting, especially blacks “fading” or not, his themes are tiresome, his plots are predictable and Madea needs to put in a nursing home on a constant sedative – however I do try my BEST to support his movies, he employs numerous crew members not just the talent-less actors

  16. MsAubra says:

    She should reject all movie roles. Not every music entertainer is meant to be in movies. It works for Ice Cube, LL and Queen Latifah, but that’s because there are some artists who are great at making that transition due to the expression their original craft requires and they transition well…she aint one of them

  17. Nanou says:

    At least Tyler Perry doesn’t wait for Hollywood to produce his movies. I may be wrong but i’ve read somewhere that he funds those movies by himself .

  18. AlmondJoy says:

    I’ve never been a TP fan, but I respect the empire he has built for himself. He had a rough background, and experienced terrible events as a child. His movies are crap for sure, but I feel that he only writes what he knows and has been exposed to in life. He also gives under worked actors and actresses a chance to get exposure. I also have read interviews from many that have worked with him saying that he provided a wonderful on-set experience, was very accomodating and sent fresh flowers to each person’s trailer every morning. Gotta respect the man’s hustle!

    • Yeah, I like TP as a person–but his schtick is old and grating. Sure, it was okay the first two or three times–but after that? Find something NEW.

      And he is a really nice guy. My mom read this story about how when he was still homeless, this woman (they went to the same church) would often give him money–not a whole lot, as she was dirt poor, but enough for him to be able to eat–she never once asked him to pay her back, and always insisted that he take it.

      Well, years later–he’s rich, etc, and somehow her name comes up–he hasn’t seen her in years. Well, he found out that her house was about to be possessed, she was in a ton of debt, etc–and he took care of everything for her. And she never once contacted him, when he hit it big, saying ‘remember when….?’…not once.

      • AlmondJoy says:

        Virgilia: I remember that story! He has a very kind heart. He worked HARD to get where he is and never hesitates to share his wealth. Sadly though, his movies suck. I try to support his Madea-less projects though… The Family That Preys and Daddy’s Little Girls were pretty good.

  19. aquarius64 says:

    Perry put the Kar-trashian in a movie? No wonder his films are seen as jokes by many.

  20. Tiffany says:

    While I like that he does cast people of color in his movies, I feel that the material should be better. Its almost like, he is saying they should be grateful for the employment because TP ego knows no bounds. The only passable movies with his name on them are when he is just the producer and nothing else.

  21. Jayna says:

    She’s still the sexiest popstar out there. That’s all I’ve got. But she has such beautiful hands. I can’t believe she just tatted all over her hand. Ugh.

    • Kimberly says:

      She’s sexy but her hands were always really ugly, I think that’s why she tattood them in the first place. She has scary witch hands. Seriously, google it.