Tyler Perry criticized after sharing his opinion on splitting bills in relationships

Tyler Perry has been criticized after sharing his opinion on splitting bills in relationships.

The 54-year-old Madea star has sparked quite the heated debate online following his appearance on actor Crystal Hayslett's podcast episode Keep It Positive, Sweetie, which aired last week (12 September).

Perry, a billionaire well-known for his multiple acts of philanthropy, offered his take on the whole dividing up bills in a relationship discourse and it has seemed to split the internet right down the middle.

Perry started his point by explaining that he 'might get in trouble' for saying what he was going to say.

"In our society right now," he began, "Black women are making a lot more money, for the most part, than Black men."

The filmmaker went on: "If you can find love, if that man works at whatever job and is a good man, and is good to you, and honors you, and honors the house, and honors his wife, and does what he can … because his gift might not be your gift, that is okay."

Perry stated: "That’s not somebody that’s beneath you. That’s somebody who came to love you at your worth.

"As long as he's secure in himself to know that, 'Yep, she makes most of the money, all I can pay is the light bill.' As long as she's comfortable enough to say, 'I'm gonna cover the mortgage and all the other stuff' ... that's fine."

He went on to claim it was a 'hard' concept for people to wrap their heads around due to their standards and expectations, while adding: "But when you talk about just someone to love and support you, I know people whose men can’t touch what they make.

"But when you see them together? That love, that support, that ‘I got you, babe,’ it’s a beautiful thing."

Just as Perry suspected, he received some backlash across social media for his statement with many taking to X, formerly Twitter, to voice their views.

One Twitter user hit out: "Tyler Perry full of sh*t man..I don’t really partake in bill convos... but a couple living together and the dude only paying the light bill is unacceptable."

A second penned: "I don’t even understand Tyler Perry’s angle. You’d think a man in his position would be encouraging other men to step it up, not telling women to settle…"

"Tyler Perry said it’s ok to marry a man that can only pay the light bill long as he loves you…" tweeted a third. "The bar in hell for millennial women."