Whether you view the creative output of Tyler Perry as a borderline minstrel show regurgitating and perpetuating the basest African-American stereotypes to the tune of several million dollars, or merely the black equivalent of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour’s Illuminati-like hold over reg’lar folk, it’s safe to say that it’s divisive, and a lightning rod for criticism from Perry’s fellow black entertainers like Spike Lee. You can now add Boondocks creator Aaron McGruder to the list of people who have taken shots at Perry: The latest episode of his show, "Pause,” took dead aim at Perry with a plot about a director turned “closeted, cross-dressing cult leader whose love of the Christian faith is a mask for his true sexuality,” and whose new play, “Ma Duke Finds Herself A Man,” is a not-so-thinly-veiled parody of Perry’s Madea franchise.
In the episode, Granddad tries out for the play only to find himself being seduced by the Perry stand-in, who admits that his “whole cross-dressing Christian cult crap is just so [he] can sleep with men”—an obvious dig at Perry, who’s been battling rumors that he’s gay for years, and whose ostensibly God-fearin’ work has long helped him cash in on the churchgoing crowd. So far neither Perry nor McGruder have commented on the episode, and as the L.A. Times notes, they’re both high-ranking employees of Turner Broadcasting, which means the network has nothing to add either. Not that anyone’s negative opinion of Tyler Perry will ever have any effect on that bed of money he sleeps on every night.