Data News Staff Edited Report
Media Mogul Tyler Perry took home the coveted People’s Champion Award at the 2020 E! People’s Choice Awards on Sunday, honoring the 51-year-old trailblazing career and deep commitment to philanthropy.
After a heartfelt introduction from Tiffany Haddish, Perry took the stage at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California, and was joined remotely, via walls of monitors, by all his employees and staff at his production studios in Atlanta, Georgia.
Perry’s inspirational speech focused largely on the importance of dedication, even in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles and unrelenting frustration. He used the metaphor of digging for wells, searching for water in realizing your dreams.
“Why am I talking about digging for water? In this world, we’re all digging wells, in our lives, digging wells in relationships, we put in time and effort and energy and sometimes it doesn’t give us what we need,” Perry shared. “Time and effort and energy into dreams and business and it doesn’t give us what we were after.”
He continued with his passionate speech saying…
“But if you just keep digging… you may be four inches away from every gift and every blessing you ever wanted in your life. Had I given up when I was homeless, sleeping in my car, hungry, had I given up these people that you see on the screen right now wouldn’t be part of my dream.”
“Let me tell you something, listen to me, when you get there, to that water, and see it coming and know you have what you need, this is what I want you to always remember — make sure that everybody you run into meets you at your worth,” Perry concluded to resounding cheers.
In 2019, Perry celebrated the grand opening of Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, the first Black-owned Major Film Production Studio in the country. In the last 20 years, the New Orleans native has gone from battling homelessness to becoming a billionaire.
The People’s Champion Award is the latest in a slew of accolades that Perry has earned this year, such as being named one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2020 and accepting the Governor’s Award at the Emmys. Perry was also recently honored with the Wall Street Journal’s 2020 Entertainment Innovator Award.
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