Atlanta’s glitterati are abuzz over the star-studded Tyler Perry Studio launch in Atlanta this weekend. Many of the VIPs who got dressed up thinking they would get all access were disappointed to learn they weren’t that important.
Ryan Cameron, host of Majic 107.5/97.5 radio in Atlanta, posed above with singer Beyonce Knowles-Carter at the event.
The star-studded party was also attended by the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Halle Berry, Will Smith and Maxine Waters.
Several people who I spoke to said they declined to attend the event once they learned of the different levels of VIP access, separate VIP rooms, secret side door access, red carpet-only access, etc.
In other words, everyone is not equal in Tyler Perry’s world.
One star who got elite VIP status and didn’t bother walking the red carpet with the commoners was Beyonce, who snuck in through a side door with her aging rapper husband, JAY-Z.
The inside joke was Beyonce ate like a bird at the gala dinner because she’s embarrassed by her FUPA (acronym for fat upper crotch Area).
Sharp-eyed members of Beyonce’s BeyHive noted her FUPA was Photoshopped out of her Instagram photos taken at the gala.
Another middle aged celebrity who isn’t self-conscious about her FUPA is actress Halle Berry, who dressed in all black.
Beyonce admitted she cried at the launch of Perry’s new movie studio, as she was overwhelmed by its significance for black entertainers.
The day after the bash, Beyonce revealed she cried at the event.
“Happy Sunday. Congratulations to Tyler Perry on the opening of his studios,” The 39-year-old Lion King star wrote on Instagram. “I could feel our ancestors’ presence. Surrounded by my heroes, I watched Denzel (Washington), Queen Oprah, Spike (Lee), Whoopi (Goldberg), Sir (Sidney) Poitier, Will, Halle , Dame Cicely (Tyson) and our angels John Singleton and Diahann Carroll honored.
“The Armand de Brignac (champagne) crashed against each soundstage as fireworks lit up the sky. Generations of blood, sweat and tears, success, excellence and brilliance.
“It makes me so proud, so full, I could not stop crying. Thank you my Virgo brother for so much love and passion put into every detail. My prayer today is that you will take it all in. You inspire me to dream even bigger.”
Perry’s studio has twelve soundstages, each named after an iconic Black actor, and is one of the biggest studios in the U.S.
Perry named one of the soundstages after pioneering actress Diahann Carroll, who recently passed away after a battle with cancer.
None of the soundstages was named after Beyonce.
Viola Davis, Samuel L. Jackson, Debbie Allen, Phylicia Rashad, Michael Ealy, Jill Scott, Ludacris, T.I., Usher, Sean Combs, and Ava DuVernay also attended the gala event.
