ABC/Ida Mae Astute
(ATLANTA) — Tyler Perry has a message for actors buying billboards to get his attention: “Please stop.”
In an Instagram post, Perry shared a photo of a billboard featuring actress Racquel Bailey that read, “ATTENTION MR. PERRY Racquel Bailey Is Your Next Leading Lady.”
He then offered a critique on the actress’ creative pitch.
“Auhhh…. soooooo…… here’s the deal. This is not the way to get my attention if you’re looking for a role in one of my shows,” Perry wrote. “Please DON’T DO THIS, SAVE YOUR MONEY!! This is the third time that someone has done this. PLEASE STOP! To audition is FREE!! I’m sure you can use that money for a better purpose.”
He continued, “I love that you want to work with me, and I love that you invest in yourself. But when you do things like this it puts my team on high alert and makes me look at you sideways. I know the message that you want to send is a positive one, but this comes across as the opposite.”
“Again, the best way to work for me is to AUDITION and it’s FREE! We post breakdowns all the time for actors. JUST COME AND AUDITION,” he added.
Perry then offered Bailey some praise and even advice to on how to better get his attention.
“And by the way, you were great in THE NIGHT OF! It was my favorite show a couple years ago. I ALREADY SAW YOU!! So just audition and keep your money!!” he said.
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Bailey, who paid $2,000 for two billboards near Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, later landed an audition for an upcoming pilot that Perry is working on.
While Bailey hasn’t heard back yet, she told AJC she was “patiently waiting” for an opportunity.
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