Actor and filmmaker Tyler Perry said a photo he took with then-President Barack Obama back in 2015 was a "very emotional" day for Obama.
Perry sat down with The View on Thursday and discussed the grief behind the smiles in the photo taken on June 17, 2015 – the same day of the racially motivated Charleston church shooting in South Carolina.
In observance of Black History Month, Perry posted the photo of the two gentlemen taken inside the comedian's Los Angeles home library on Instagram.
He wrote of the elegant furniture:
"I bought these chairs at auction."
"They were once owned by Abraham Lincoln."
"We sat in them and had an incredible conversation."
"This post is to celebrate Black History Month while marking a moment in American history," he said, tagging the former POTUS.
"We both had an opportunity to sit in those chairs and have a conversation."
He went on to describe the powerful moment of being in the presence of:
"A sitting President [Obama]. A President [Lincoln] in the past who freed the slaves. Two African-American men sitting in the chairs having a conversation."
There was renewed adoration for the nostalgic photograph.
@tylerperry/Instagram
@tylerperry/Instagram
@tylerperry/Instagram
@tylerperry/Instagram
@tylerperry/Instagram
@tylerperry/Instagram
Can we talk about the impressive book collection?
@tylerperry/Instagram
@tylerperry/Instagram
@tylerperry/Instagram
Never one to mince words, The View co-host Joy Behar chimed in with her own timeline of events.
"When I saw this picture when I knew the story, I said 'we had Abraham Lincoln, Barack Obama, and we have a thug in the White House."
Perry had invited Obama over to his house for a fundraiser in Los Angeles and explained:
"this was a very emotional day for him because it was the day that the shooting happened in South Carolina."
Eight people were killed when a gunman opened fire inside the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church during a prayer service, predominantly attended by black church goers, around 9 p.m.
The church pastor and a South Carolina state senator were identified among those who lost their lives in the church that night. Two other people were rushed to the hospital, one of whom died.
The tragic incident was a hate crime deliberately targeting African-Americans.
The massacre was particularly devastating for Perry, who grew up as a member of the AME Church.
He posted a message on Facebook following the tragedy.
"I grew up in the AME Church. My aunt and uncle are pastors and a bishop in the church. I know these kinds of prayer meetings well and I've been in a lot of them! It could have been any of us!"
"The AME church, so close to home for me, so personal. What do you do when you think prayer is not enough? You pray some more. My heart and soul go out to the families of Emmanuel AME church!!"
You can watch the whole interview of Tyler Perry on The View in the YouTube clip, below.
Tyler Perry On Final Madea Movie And 25 Years In Hollywood I The Viewwww.youtube.com
@kileywrestling/Bluesky
