Tyler Perry on Why He Keeps Son Aman, 7, Out of the Spotlight: 'to Have as Normal a Life as He Can'

Tyler Perry is opening up about why he keeps his 7-year-old son, Aman, out of the limelight.

In the August/September cover story of AARP The Magazine, the 52-year-old filmmaker revealed why he believes his personal relationships should remain private.

"Because these people are not famous. My son's not famous," he said. "I want him to have as normal a life as he can."

He added, "I want him to know what it's like to have his own name and his own life and not have the pressure of trying to live up to whatever or whoever your father was."

Perry shares Aman with ex Gelila Bekele, whom he split with in December 2020.

He also shared that he is waiting to discuss race with his son until he gets older.

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"I haven't had the conversation with Aman because he's only 7, and I want to hold out as long as I can," he shared. "I don't want to tell him that there are people who will judge him because of the color of his skin, because right now he's in a school with every race, and all these kids are in their purest form. When he describes his friends, he never defines them by race."

He continued, "So, the moment he loses that innocence is going to be a very, very sad day for me. I know it's coming, though, because he's already asking some really tough questions. What I want him to be, more than anything, is somebody who sees injustice, speaks out against it and effects change.

In July, Perry opened up about how he navigates privilege with his son during a conversation with Gayle King at the Tribeca Film Festival.

During the conversation, King asked Perry what it's like raising a child who is growing up in circumstances different than the ones Perry himself grew up in. In response, he explained that he has some clear ideas on how he wants to approach privilege.

"[Aman] does not get everything he wants. For birthdays, he'll get a gift or two," Perry explained. "For Christmas, he'll get a gift or two. Because he don't have a job. He ain't got no money."

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Perry then shared a story about a time when Aman asked to use his credit card after the little boy saw his dad using it to previously buy him toys.

"So I'm at work, I get a message from [Aman], and he said, 'Papa? Can I use your credit card?' He's 6 years old!" he recalled. "I'm like, 'What the hell you know about a credit card?' He'd just seen me use the credit card. I was like, 'No, son. That's just plastic, but you have to pay for it. You have to have a job.' "