Charlamagne Tha God Says Tyler Perry Helped Him Understand His Childhood Trauma [Video]
Charlamagne tha God is crediting Tyler Perry for helping him understand his childhood trauma.
The 43-year-old actor and radio personality, whose real name is Lenard Larry McKelvey, said he realized he was abused as a child after watching Perry speak about his own childhood trauma on the "The Oprah Winfrey Show" years ago.
"I watched him crying and I remember saying to myself, 'Well, you know, what's wrong with him?'" Charlamagne noted when he appeared on the ''Daily Blast Live" show Monday. "Because I think the way that men process sexual assault is different."
Charlamagne said he didn't even look at his situation as a "sexual assault" before watching Perry's interview. Instead, he used to think, "I was 8 getting it popping with an older woman."
Perry, in a 2010 interview, disclosed that many men molested him when he was just a 5-year-old kid. Moreover, his mother's female friend also seduced him when he was just 10 years old, noting that it was his first sexual experience with the opposite gender.
Charlamagne, who was molested by his cousin's ex-wife at the age of 8, told the "Daily Blast Live" host that he thought it was something normal.
"I literally remember me and my guys at that age having conversations of being with older women back then," he explained. "None of us processed it as sexual assault. Then, I just understood it more because you don't know what that did to you."
Charlamagne is undergoing therapy to deal with the trauma. He also penned a book, titled "Shook One: Anxiety Playing Tricks on Me," which was released in 2018.
The actor was featured in "Boogie," which was released in March 2021. The basketball drama, directed by Eddie Huang, also stars Pop Smoke, Eddie Huang, Taylor Takahashi, Taylour Paige, Jorge Lendeborg Jr. and Margaret Odette.
He also appeared in an episode of the comedy TV series "Dave." The episode, titled "What Wood You Wear?" was aired on May 31, 2020. Charlamagne was also a regular on "Empire" TV series from 2015 to 2020.
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