‘He Came and Blessed Me’: Fantasia Reveals Tyler Perry Helped Her When She Was Down and Out

From the outside looking in, it may seem that celebrities live lavishly with cooks, drivers and handlers at their disposal. But according to Fantasia, that’s a huge misconception, and people can look at her lifestyle as an example.

The singer stopped by “The Tammi Mac Show” on Monday and said she takes care of her own daily tasks. It was right after Mac commented on her fit appearance and asked if having money makes it easier to live a healthy lifestyle.

“Do you think it’s easier being a celebrity having access to chefs and cooks and money to be able to buy the things you need?” she asked.

“No, ’cause I’m regular. I don’t like the whole celebrity thing,” Fantasia replied. “A lot of artists that you see, they look like they have it and we smile and we come out and we put on a good show, but in real life some of them are struggling and we don’t have it. I’m just now building myself back up.”

“I lost everything twice,” she added. “So I cook my own food. I don’t need no chef. I’m from North Carolina, my grandma and my mama taught me how to cook. I cook my own food, I don’t have a chef. I go get my own groceries. I don’t have a driver, I drive my own car.” 

Last month the “American Idol” alum dropped her new single “Enough” from her forthcoming album “Sketchbook” that she’ll release on her own record label. She also performed the cut at the BET Awards on Sunday night.

Tyler Perry, whom Fantasia called a good friend, attended the award show as well and was honored with the Ultimate Icon Award.

During his speech, the writer and filmmaker encouraged everyone to “Own your stuff, own your business, own your way,” and Fantasia said the message really resonated with her.

The 34-year-old also said Perry was there for her when she was financially down and out.

“Tyler Perry’s actually a good friend of mine,” she revealed. “He would call and check up on me. He was one of the ones, when I lost everything, he came and blessed me. And I thank him for that.”

“Everything he said last night is true,” she added. “You look around and you could be working for 10 years, you’ve got all these people on your team, you’re paying this person, that person, and you look up, and you don’t have no money in the bank because you’ve given it to everybody else.”

Independent journalism doesn't fund itself.

We hope this story was worth your time. For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed Black-owned and independently run. We didn't get here by waiting on ad budgets that were never built to prioritize us. Our readers did that.

Corporate support for Black media has always been thin. Outlets like ours get roughly 1% of the $170 billion spent on U.S. advertising each year, and that margin is shrinking further as advertisers walk back the DEI-linked commitments they made in 2020. That's the backdrop. It's not why we're asking.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Back to top