The Georgia governor-elect posed with Perry at his Atlanta premiere as he faces two civil sexual assault lawsuits and a December deposition. He denies the allegations.
By EEW Magazine Online Editors
From left, Georgia Gov.-elect Keisha Lance Bottoms, Tyler Perry and Bottoms’ mother, Sylvia Robinson, attend the Atlanta premiere of “Tyler Perry’s The Gospel of Christmas” at the Tabernacle on Nov. 9, 2026. (Tyler Perry/X)
Tyler Perry needed only five words to sum up Monday night in Atlanta. "We had church last night," the filmmaker posted on X Tuesday, a day before "Tyler Perry's The Gospel of Christmas" begins streaming on Netflix. On the red carpet at the Tabernacle, Georgia Gov.-elect Keisha Lance Bottoms posed with Perry and her mother, Sylvia Robinson, three days after appointing him to help build her administration.
After the screening, Shirley Caesar, Vanessa Bell Armstrong, Ann Nesby, Chanté Moore and Y'Anna Crawley led a surprise gospel concert that SHEEN Magazine's Rainy Cates likened to a revival.
Bottoms named Perry on Friday, Nov. 6, as one of 10 co-chairs of "Georgia's Promise," her transition team. Speaking at the state Capitol, she introduced him as "an entertainment mogul who is also a huge philanthropic part of our Georgia community and owns Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta."
Tyler Perry with cast members and guests at the Atlanta premiere of “Tyler Perry’s The Gospel of Christmas” on Nov. 9, 2026. (Tyler Perry/X)
Perry's appointment has drawn scrutiny because he faces two civil lawsuits from actors who accuse him of sexual assault, allegations he denies. Variety's headline on the announcement flagged the lawsuits.
Bottoms, a Democrat and former Atlanta mayor, defeated Republican Rick Jackson on Nov. 3 by more than 8 points, becoming the first Black woman elected governor of any U.S. state. She will also be Georgia's first woman governor and the first Democrat to win the office since 1998, EEW Magazine Online reported.
Perry's fellow co-chairs include Home Depot co-founder Arthur Blank, former Walgreens CEO Rosalind Brewer, former state Sen. Jason Carter, nonprofit leader Michelle Nunn and Delta executive Richard Cox. U.S. Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock and former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young are among 20 honorary co-chairs. Bottoms plans to name more transition leaders and senior staff in the coming weeks.
Bottoms and Perry have worked together for years. Tyler Perry Studios opened in 2019 on the former Fort McPherson Army base in southwest Atlanta while Bottoms was mayor. In 2025, she served as an executive producer of Perry's Netflix comedy "She the People," later renamed "Miss Governor," about a newly elected lieutenant governor of Mississippi.
The new film stars Tank as Isaac, a struggling pastor fighting to save his family's church in a broken New York neighborhood, with Fantasia Barrino Taylor as his wife, Rebecca. Kirk Franklin produced the soundtrack, and the cast includes CeCe Winans, Yolanda Adams, Fred Hammond and the Clark Sisters.
From left, Tank, Fantasia Barrino and Tyler Perry attend the Atlanta premiere of “Tyler Perry’s The Gospel of Christmas” at the Tabernacle on Nov. 9, 2026. (Tyler Perry/X)
On the Tabernacle stage Monday, Perry recalled the seven years he spent trying to get his first play, "I Know I've Been Changed," off the ground, Cates wrote. "Tyler Perry's The Gospel of Christmas" streams on Netflix beginning Wednesday, Nov. 11.
The lawsuits behind the scrutiny were filed last year by actors who worked on Perry projects.
Actor Derek Dixon, who appeared in Perry's series "The Oval" and "Ruthless," sued in June 2025 seeking $260 million, alleging repeated sexual harassment and assault. The case has since moved to federal court in Georgia. When the suit was filed, Perry's attorney said in a statement that Dixon "got close to Tyler Perry for what now appears to be nothing more than setting up a scam."
Mario Rodriguez, who had a small role in Perry's 2016 film "Boo! A Madea Halloween," filed suit in Los Angeles Superior Court in December 2025 seeking at least $77 million. He alleges Perry made unwanted sexual advances at Perry's Los Angeles home over several years. Perry's attorney Alex Spiro has called the case "nothing but a $77 million money grab scam." As EEW Magazine Online reported last month, Perry has asked the court to keep text messages with his associates out of public view.
Perry has agreed to sit for an in-person deposition in the Rodriguez case on Dec. 9, about a month before Bottoms takes office on Jan. 11. In July, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Brock T. Hammond denied Rodriguez's request to force an earlier date, Complex reported.
Tyler Perry attends the Atlanta premiere of “Tyler Perry’s The Gospel of Christmas” on Nov. 9, 2026. The film streams on Netflix beginning Nov. 11. (Tyler Perry/X)
Reaction to the appointment split online. Some praised it, while others questioned whether someone facing pending sexual assault cases should help shape a new state administration.
No court has found Perry liable in either case.
