The Duchess of Sussex made a solo appearance in Los Angeles on Wednesday December 4, to pay tribute to Tyler Perry – and she couldn’t help but bust a move mid-dinner.
The prolific film director and producer was being honored by the Paley Center for Media, and the Duchess was one of the Committee Chairs for The Paley Honors alongside Whoopi Goldberg, Taraji P. Henson, and Kerry Washington.
As the gala took the turn towards the philanthropic, encouraging guests to raise paddles to donate money, Kerry and Meghan were spotted creating their own dance moves as the appeal specialist called out paddle numbers to a beat.
Watch the video below:
The event was a salute to Tyler’s “remarkable and enduring career which continues to break barriers, dispel negative stereotypes, educate audiences, and bring people together through his bold and original storytelling”.
Meghan, 43, looked beautiful in an Oscar de la Renta black strapless gown paired with a custom Logan Hollowell necklace, Cartier Love necklace and Celine heels. She wore her famous raven mane in a updo and immaculately natural makeup highlighted her pretty features.
Although she did not appear on stage, she was sat next to Tyler for the dinner, where the pair were seen by HELLO! in deep conversation, alongside Kerry and Oprah Winfrey.
The group dined on smoked burrata caprese salad, filet of tenderloin, and a selection of desserts, while Meghan had a glass of Sauvignon Blanc in front of her.
© Michael BucknerIt was an evening of emotions, however, as both Kerry and Oprah were seen in tears as the 55-year-old director spoke of his traumatic childhood, where he witnessed and was a victim of physical and verbal abuse by his father, and sexual abuse by family friends.
“I would say, at 55-years-old, I am the freest version of myself that I’ve ever been,” he said. “I turn toward all that pain, throw my arms and embrace every bit of it, stared the shame down and took the power out of it so that I could heal it, and I challenge you and everyone of you to do that as well.”
© Leon Bennett“I don’t know how much time I have left on this planet, but what I do know is that I want love as much as I can, spread as much joy and good as I can,” he concluded.
“I want to make my mother proud and I want to make my son proud of his father, something that I was never able to be of a man who raised me, and I want to thank everybody here that showed up for me.”
© Leon BennettMeghan first met Tyler in 2020 when he allowed the Duchess and her husband, Prince Harry, to live in his $18 million Los Angeles home during what was a difficult period in the couple’s lives.
“Everybody thought Oprah introduced us, but Oprah didn’t even know that I reached out to them and I sent them a note through our, we had the same publicist years ago, and just said, ‘If you ever need anything, I’m here,’ and she called months later and just talked to me like I was a therapist you talk to and we just had a great conversation,” he revealed in 2023 of how they became connected.
© Unique Nicole“So it is very important for people in this business to have a safe place to land, to have a place where they can trust and talk freely and get advice that’s not gonna be biased or from somebody who wants something from them and they hid out at my house for a long time. It was so great.”
They later asked the Hollywood mogul to be their daughter Lilibet’s godfather.
Tyler also offered his “security” to the pair while they were staying at his home, after their UK taxpayer-funded protection was removed in line with their decision to step down as senior royals.
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