*Morris O’Kelly, better know to EUR partisans as Mo’Kelly, has written an open letter to Tyler Perry in response to Perry’s statement on why he cast Kim Kardashian in his new film, “The Marriage Counselor.” Obviously Mo’Kelly doesn’t agree with Mr. Perry’s stance at all and is letting him and several million other readers know why.
Here’s Morris O’Kelly’s open letter to Tyler Perry:
*Dear Tyler Perry,
I have never been concerned with gaining favor with celebrities or undeservedly denigrating one’s work. I have always prided myself on putting my community first, even when doing so has been unpopular and frankly unappreciated by members of that same community.
So understand that my letter to you is on principle and premise…not personal animus. This comes not from someone who is a fan of “this” or “that” person, but a fan of the community of African-Americans. They come first in all I do.
The problem I personally have with your letter Mr. Perry which offered insight into your decision-making process of casting Kim Kardashian, is that it seeks to weave a disingenuous narrative. You seem to suggest that the sum total story of redemption to be told in Tyler Perry’s The Marriage Counselor holds more weight than the combination of its components.
Untrue.
The issue isn’t whether K.K. is appropriate or whether you Mr. Perry have the right to create as you see fit. Nobody is deluded here. Nothing is going to change from this letter, neither your mind nor your movie. Nevertheless, some things need to be said and placed on the record because the truth doesn’t change and isn’t subject to interpretation. Meaning, the issue I have is that your letter to your fans was an attempt to spin the casting of Kim Kardashian into some higher calling.
That can not pass without a truth check. Again, this isn’t personal, just a matter of principle.
Some people are angry with you because Kim Kardashian receives too much attention as a Black man’s pin up. Some are angry with you because she is not an actress by any stretch of the imagination. Others are displeased that given your high profile movies, an African-American actress in the role means more to your core fan base who made “Tyler Perry” a household name, than fans you may gain by crossing over and dipping into the Reality TV punch bowl. And let’s be honest, many are disturbed that given your kinda-sorta-Christian-themed-message-movies, you are further rewarding an individual whose original claim to fame was a sex tape.
For all who criticize you on this issue, it is some of that. For some, it is all of that. Inevitably, the distaste for Kim Kardashian amongst many African-American women (your core fan base) is real, not imagined. Take considerable care in the underestimation of their angst and the strength of their collective memory.
A common theme in all of your movies is the story of redemption. Even the worst of the worst are worthy of second chances.
Agreed.
But Mr. Perry, you can’t really argue telling the STORY of redemption through use of a promotion vehicle (Kardashian) who presently lives and thrives on irredeemable REAL LIFE behavior. I’d rather see a sermon lived out than hear one, any day of the week. I’d rather see a sermon than one acted out on the silver screen. People who live their creed mean affect more lives than ones who act it out for a paycheck. If you want to truly reach the followers of K.K., seek to change K.K., don’t give her a movie role and then claim you are doing your fans (and her fans) a quasi-Christian favor by doing so. I think we all understand the economics and business strategy here. There is no need to further convolute the issue.
Truth check: Spiritual discernment still trumps spin and specious argumentation.
K.K. wasn’t an actress who “made a mistake” and who now is being granted a second chance. It’s a “mistake” to even characterize her as an actress. Her claim to fame IS the mistake.
And here you are further rewarding it. Truth check.
If your fans are angry with you (and they are); let’s be truthful and honest about the realities of their anger. Let’s not minimize, trivialize or bastardize the nature of their grievances. It’s not that they didn’t “hear you out” or “jumped to conclusions.” You’ve insulted their intelligence by suggesting their anger was misdirected or misinformed in the first place.
Your company is yours to run as you see fit, your brand to build as you choose. Your success thus far is inarguable. None of the aforementioned ensure though that your judgment is infallible. Don’t glue chicken feathers on a chinchilla Saturday night and then try to sell it at KFC as part of a two-piece and biscuit Sunday morning. Don’t insult the collective intelligence of the African-American film community.
You’ve now tied your brand to Kim Kardashian and must now carry all of the baggage that comes with her. The question is not and was not ever whether your loyal fans understood why you chose Kim Kardashian. The question is and continues to be whether you understood what it means to align yourself with Kim Kardashian.
Respectfully,
Morris W. O’Kelly
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Re: the Open Letter
I am disappointed on so many levels.
RE: The open letter:
I am not a KK fan, but a huge fan of TP. Yes KK claim to fame was in a form of a s.. tape, and more. I admirer and respect TP on his decision, because KK has got nothing but bad press due to choices she makes in her life, its about time someone who is human enough to stretch out his hand and try and spin all that negativity around into something positive. Lets not judge, and we ill not be judged.
Cedric,
Agreed. My disappointment was regarding Mo Kelly’s open letter partly for exactly the reason that you spoke of.
I don’t see what’s so serious about KK being in the movie. People should get over it and just not support the movie. I would consider this a business move to generate money and a different fan base. The same folk complaining will be lined up the first box office night with their homegirls. My cousin has the play version and it was a white girl playing this role..and if the so called fan base were Christians then why are they being judgmental and envying this chic when she did nothing to them personally. She can’t help that many black men fantasize about her. IJS.
To answer your question, there’s a double standard at play. Tyler is already on the record, calling Kim Kardashian “a role model”…
Juxtapose that with his sorta-Christian message and you have a problem. Kim Kardashian has many followers, millions buy her products and watch her TV show…but a role MODEL suggests something altogether different.
It is a careless characterization. And to elevate her standing on the supposed merits of her “career” is insulting to many in the Christian community.
It’s not being judgmental, it’s taking Tyler at his word. He called her a role model. He said that this story was one of redemption, and that having K.K. in this role can positively influence so many people.
Maybe, but not for the reasons he’s selling and many of his fans are simply not buying.
Isn’t the Christian community supposed to be forgiving and un-judgemental? Everybody is so busy focusing on her flaws because she is so famous and successful. You have no idea what good she does. Tyler might have an insight on that. Everybody has his or her share of dirt. It just so happens that hers is in the limelight. Just because you may not do the same dirt she has doesn’t mean you are any better or worse of a person. We all just trying to make the best of what we got. Let TP do his thing. Let KK do her thing. Either you support it or you don’t.
Morris I agree with u TOTALLY. Bravo! Tell it like it T.I.S.!! As u stated, some people will Never get it. They refuse to see, only what they desire. KK ‘s entire image is based on bad behaviour, so I really dont know what these people are defending. There’s nothing there. When did she exhibit any redeeming qualities? I’m not judging either, just want to know?
The term role model generally means any “person who serves as an example, whose behaviour is emulated by others”.[1]
The term first appeared in Robert K. Merton’s socialization research of medical students.[2] Merton hypothesized that individuals compare themselves with reference groups of people who occupy the social role to which the individual aspires.[2]
According to a survey of teachers in the U.K. conducted in 2008 by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers young people frequently chose role models from celebrity culture such as David and Victoria Beckham or Paris Hilton and emulate their appearance and manner.[3] According to the teachers surveyed the most popular role models of British school children in 2008 were:
David Beckham
Victoria Beckham – Posh
Frank Lampard
Keira Knightley
David Tennant
Paris Hilton
Nate Tchividjian
Lewis Hamilton
Sugababes
Leona Lewis
Nadine Coyle (Girls Aloud)
Lily Allen
Johnny Depp
Kelly Holmes
Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter)
Mischa Barton (The OC)
Kelly Osbourne
Russell Brand
Peaches Geldof[4]
——————————————————————————————————————————————————Well the person who first started the term role model didnt use it to mean a positive acting person(in character or actions).So maybe the wrong tree is being barked upon.And if these people are considered role models than I guess people have their own separate definition of the word.
PS O’Kelly, with all due respect,I remember correcting you ,when you stated Kourtney Kardashian was the youngest Kardashian sister and that wasn’t that long ago,it seems like just a week or two ago,in your response you stated you don’t follow them .Why are you writing about Kim so much now,since in your words, you care so much about us. Most that I know don’t care about or for her,aren’t there better people/issues to give attention 2 or are u feening for her,looking for hits,what?lol,Just asking.Again no disrespect,just wondering.I know you are going to respond,so let me beat you to the punch,before you say this is about Tyler,you have written 17 paragraphs,some long,some one word,she is mentioned 7 times,so this is about her as much as him.
I follow the issues of the importance in the media. It’s less about K.K. and more about the issues she has created specifically in the African-American community.
I’ve written about Tyler Perry MANY times. The intersection of Tyler Perry and Kardashian makes her come into my editorial purview.
Because this is of such great importance to Black women generally, it comes into my purview. To say that this open letter is “about” Kim Kardashian is a dishonest read of the subject.
I don’t dictate the news. But it very much dictates the issues of interest and what subjects I choose to pursue. The line is whether there is SUBSTANTIVE commentary to be made in regards to Kim Kardashian.
Clearly right now there is. That is the difference between writing a column about whether her show is going to be cancelled and writing about whether African-Americans have a reason to be angry relative to her casting and the larger social issues related to film.
To not see the difference…don’t know what to say. Nothing I write would appear on E! Online. So if you’re only counting paragraphs and mentions but not addressing the substantive nature of the conversation.;..again, don’t know what to say.
I don’t follow hip-hop…care to count how many editorials, paragraphs and mentions of hip-hop and specific artists I’ve done there?
Exactly…it’s about the issues related, not underlying fandom. So although I don’t follow hip-hop anymore, the moment Kanye or Jay Z makes a silly political statement, they’ve moved into my realm.
Right now, the issue of K.K. is in my realm and if you’re honest with yourself, you know this to be true.
Re why someone would write about something they don’t personally indulge in: this ish is EVERYWHERE. I can honestly say I have never–as in not once–seen one episode of this Kardashian lady’s show, I know virtually nothing about her except that she made a sex tape. YET, the mainstream media has for whatever reason BOMBARDED us with news about her lately. I would literally have to be living under a rock to not have any contact with this story whatsoever. So this notion that you have to “care” about something to have learned about it or to form an opinion on it, is quite frankly ridiculous. And for what it’s worth, as a non-Tyler Perry fan, I can say I found Tyler’s response to his fans absurd especially the “people look up to her and I wanted to show redemption” nonsense. Bullcrap. But this brings me to a larger point–>
The only thing I disagree with MoKelly on is this, “Don’t insult the collective intelligence of the African-American film community.” This will sound racist, but “what collective intelligence?” I have to admit I do wonder about that so-called intelligence. Black folks have accepted this drag queen’s offerings passed off as “art” for a very long time. I didn’t get it then, and don’t really get it now to be honest. Beyond Perry though, in other areas of entertaintment, politics, etc., Blacks continue to settle for less. We let thug drug dealers rap about their fantasies of murder and bling and pass it off as “music.” We continue to coddle folks who give us their azzes to kiss, ie we let politicians bring their southern drawl and chopped cadences to speeches in front of Black audiences during election season, then forget our names when it’s time to govern. In short, folks treat Blacks like idiots because for some reason we KEEP PLAYING THAT ROLE.
Just my two cents/ rant over
Tgen I know I don’t always agree with some of the stuff you say but I totally agree with everything you just posted! AMEN!!
*spitting out soy teatte*
Now why u gotta call the a man drag queen? ROTFLMBO!!!!
But I do agree with and believe for the most part, Okels does to. I’m just pretty sure that black folk wouldn’t appreciate a journalist stating that we lack a collective intelligence..lol
We don’t and at many times are disingenous in our critics. Listening to many diehard fans, you would think that Perry’s work (at least the messaging) was on par with the works of Spike or the Van Peebles. It never was. It didn’t start that way and is not that way now. So while I don’t care if the woman’s in it or not, this decision doesn’t surprise of bother me – I expected such.
Our “collective” intelligence was insulted by his response. See, he’s accustomed to his fans experiecing the same level of zombie’ism as those made famous in aaron macgruders EXCELLENT Boondocks satire about Perry. He’s now learning that there is a limit to our support/understanding. Now this doesn’t mean that we’ve seen the light and have become more principled. We haven’t. Like Obama, Tyler knows that he can take us for granted. Doesn’t mean he’s a shiester. What it does mean is that when weighing factors *
wehe deems important to his personal advancement, our collective selves will always be 2nd.Hence, the “ya’ll just don’t understand what I’m trying to do here.”
Sounds familiar?
Nail hit on the head.
Thank nylaconnect!
I was about to go off on the role model thing and I’m glad I decided to read the postings to the end first. It has truly amazed me in the years of reading this site how unknowledgeable most people are and how litttle they actually think things all the way through for themselves. I’d really love to force my fellow Americans back into school for reading comprehension, writing and common sense classes to begin with.
The mere fact that you choose to sit here and “semanticize” the word “role model” says quite a bit. I take it you’re a Perry fan?
I don’t care what Merriam Webster or Wikepedia says. In modern america, there is no confusion about in what context we use the word. It is 10000% of times used to denote something positive. 10000%. It’s why you never hear, when referring to a murderer, child molester, rapist, etc. someone say “role model to the murderers, child molesters etc.”
Kim Kardashian is the new Paris Hilton.
Obviously, we all don’t and never have taken the term to mean a positive thing. There are many of us that know a role model is who you yourself choose to model yourself after whether that person be a good person or a bad person and all people have flaws. I’ve told you before not to tell me what I mean and that I mean what I type. Plenty of fools aspire to be pimps or playas (not to be confused with Playboys). Or, have you not been paying attention?!
I don’t have to be a fan to have common sense and know that everyone is stupid enough to go along and say that a role model is perceived by everyone as being positive when throughout history many have chosen to emulate the negative. But, fyi, I’ve never gone to one of his plays nor seen any of his movies in the theater.
TGEN WROTE
I don’t care what Merriam Webster or Wikepedia says. In modern america, there is no confusion about in what context we use the word. It is 10000% of times used to denote something positive. 10000%. It’s why you never hear, when referring to a murderer, child molester, rapist, etc. someone say “role model to the murderers, child molesters etc.”
————————————————————————————————————————————————-
Hence the saying the masses are asses,so on this you TGEN need to get in where u fit in.
TGEN I apologize that was meant for musbdherbs,not you. What I want to come at you about is you stated you dont have to care about something to comment or have an opinion on it.This is true,but it just shows how distracted people are,when there are more important things to spend one’s energy on.Had I known this article had anything to do with her, I wouldn’t have read it,because that’s how I handle things I don’t care about,I ignore it, if that is possible.The headline stated an open letter to Tyler Perry so I was interested in, who wrote it and what it was about.It did jar me to comment on this,because no matter what musbdherbs or anyone thinks ,the person who came up with the term role model,didn’t use it the way most people think or use it now,a sort of revisionist history or lack of knowledge.And like I stated if Mo, paraphrasing, is so much a fan of our community,I wondered if he felt this whole thing was so important to keep writing about it and her?
Welcome Brooklynbabe.
Mo’s interjection about Christianity and Kim’s inappropriateness is bullshit. Kim Kardashian could have gotten “saved” yesterday for all we know.
And what does that hafta do with the cost of a can of potted meat and keebler saltines?
She stilled starred in her own porno.
Yes, *starred*. Not starring. Thus my comment “she could have gotten ‘saved’ yesterday for all we know”
Her being saved also means that old behavior passes away. Her being saved also means that she confesses with her mouth that Jesus is Lord.
Her being saved only speaks to whether he soul is saved, not whether Black women have a right to be angry as to the message she sends to young women.
And if she was “saved” yesterday…that only proves the point, not dismisses it. She wasn’t selected for any reason other than her fame…inextricably linked to a sex tape. She was “selected” months ago.
Her being saved (or not) is irrelevant to this discussion. Her personal “heathen” status wasn’t the issue.
And nice of you to put “BULLSHIT,” “Christian” and “saved” in the same comment.
We don’t know that ANY of the actors in TP’s movies are saved, no that has NEVER been the litmus test. Remember I said “kinda-sorta Christian message” meaning it ain’t really a Christian message. It hints at it, but is NOT in line with it many times.
TP brought GOD and REDEMPTION into it via HIS letter. HE then made it worthy of analysis along those lines.
For those reading, just because you become saved today DOES NOT mean your old-bad-nasty behavior goes away instantly. As with anything, it requires discipline of your mind, mouth…..and I will stop there.
Everyone will make their own decisions whether or not to support this movie. I believe the objections is not that a white actress was selected, I am more concerned that NO actress was selected. I can definitely say that I believe this was a bad decision and there will be affect to the box office. I will not be there. Mr O’Kelly, agree with you 100%