Tyler Perry is sharing a significant title for the first time: godfather to Lilibet Diana.
The filmmaker mentioned in the last episode of the Netflix docuseries Harry and Meghan that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle asked him to take on this role in 2021, after Lili, their second child, was born.
Perry said that Harry and Meghan “were pretty serious on the phone” when they called him, which is unusual since their talks are usually more fun.
“I go, ‘Okay, what’s happening?’ They said, ‘Well, we’d like you to be Lili’s godfather.’ I go, ‘Whoa,’ ” Perry added. “I had to pause for a moment to process that.”
“And I thought, ‘I’d be honored. I’d totally be honored,’ ” he continued.
After hanging up with them and thinking about their request more deeply he realized his acceptance came with a little condition.
“I called them back and said, ‘Uh wait a minute — does this mean we gotta go over [to the U.K.] and do all of that in church with [the royal family] and figure all that out? ‘Cause I don’t wanna do that,’ ” he explained. “’Maybe we can have a small private ceremony here [in the U.S.] instead; if you need to do it there later then that’s fine.’ ”
Earlier in this episode Perry shared how he first met Meghan after sending her a letter before her wedding saying he was praying for her during the “hurtful” drama surrounding her relationship with her dad Thomas Markle.
“I couldn’t even imagine this woman finding true love with someone who happens to be a prince while dealing with all of that chaos,” Perry stated.
“When my life changed & success started coming my way family members turned into different people too; I know how painful it can be,” he added saying he “immediately felt for” Meghan.
In the series both Meghan & Perry remembered their first phone call years later where Meghan cried as she talked about how she felt treated by media outlets.
“To tell Meghan that I believed her feelings were valid hurt,” he mentioned. “I didn’t want to say it — didn’t want her feeling like that but lying wasn’t an option either.”
The Jazzman’s Blues director recognized signs of “abuse,” having seen his own mother being mistreated before.
“This woman faced abuse. And so did he,” Perry remarked about how they were treated by palace officials. “Using an institution like this is similar to what an abuser would do — like cutting off money or security just so you comply.”
“And both of them having enough strength to say ‘I don’t care if it’s from royalty; I’m leaving.’ That deserves applause,” added Perry.
When COVID hit early in 2020 ,Harry &Meghan had no plan where they could feel safe along with their then one-year-old son Archie Harrison .
Perry offered them shelter at his home in Los Angeles , California .“You told us ,‘Stay as long as you need.’ We joked maybe we should stay forever.” Harry told him .
“It was great because nobody knew we were there.” The prince shared .
“It was secret so at least during COVID we could walk our dogs & have some normalcy.” Later on ,Meghan is heard saying from behind camera during home video showing couple doing just tht .
All episodes of Harry and Meghan are now available on Netflix .
