Tyler Perry gets emotional after talking about his late mother Willie Maxine Perry

‘She never thought she was important and she never thought anybody would care,’ Perry says about his mother

Tyler Perry broke down in tears after talking about his late mother in a recent interview.

When the 54-year-old filmmaker recently appeared on The View to promote his new project, Perry unexpectedly found himself get emotional. His new documentary series, titled Maxine's Baby: The Tyler Perry Story, focuses on his life and relationship with his mother, Maxine Willie Perry. His mother passed away in 2009, when she was only 64 years old.

During his appearance on The View, co-host Sara Haines admitted she felt like she had met Maxine after watching Perry’s new film. Her sweet remark, however, caused the movie producer to choke up. “OK. Wait a minute. That took me. You met... wow. You met my mother through it? Wow,” he told Haines. “Thank you. Oh my God. Wow.”

Haines’ sentiment seemed to strike a chord with the actor, considering the project was meant to honour one of the most important women in his life.

“To say that you met her through that, that takes me somewhere, because this woman endured so much pain. And she didn’t have some legacy but she had me,” Perry continued. “To say that I was able to introduce her to you, you got me there, man.”

“I’m sorry. Lord have mercy. Thank you for that. I appreciate that very much. Wow,” Perry continued, as his eyes welled with tears. The Hollywood star admitted that he couldn’t keep himself together after Haines shared her kind observation. He apologised to Haines, before once again addressing her comment.

“I‘m sorry, guys,” he said. “You met my mother through the doc. You really got me there. I need to get myself together. Wow. I don’t even know what to say about it.”

“I just imagine a woman who’s lived her entire life with so much pain, and she was always worried about everybody else. I watched her get sick, I watched her get cancer, I watched her have all of these things, because her intention was: ‘Are you happy? Are you OK?’”

“She never put herself on the list. She never thought she was important, and she never thought anybody would care,” he continued. “So to say that this documentary... introduces her to the world, that moves me ‘cause she was very much that special to me.

Back in 2009, the Madea’s Family Reunion creator announced the passing of his mother on his website with a poignant message. “My mother is the wisdom of Madea, she was 64. Thank you for all your prayers,” he wrote. Perry did not reveal any further details about her death.

Maxine’s Baby: The Tyler Perry Story, which was co-directed by Perry’s former longtime partner Gelila Bekele, will begin streaming on Prime Video on 17 November.