Jania Ashlynn
The actor, director, and writer spoke with Entertainment Tonight about the possibility of owning the majority stake in the network.
Videos by Rare
Whispers Are True
“Rumor? No, it’s not a rumor,” Perry shared. “I’ve been there for four years now and have tremendous success. I wasn’t expecting this to happen, so, yes — if that is possible, I’m very, very interested in taking as much of it as I can.”
“Part of it is — and I’ve read about Byron Allen and [Sean “Diddy” Combs] and everybody wanting to bid and so on and so forth, and I think it’s really great,” he continued. “This is what I love about it. When Bob Johnson sold it in 2000, I think it was, there wasn’t one Black person who could buy it. So now, to see all of these Black people, men and women, who are able to be in a position to buy it? Man, that makes me feel really, really excited.”
He noted how Black ownership of the company “means a great deal.”
Maybe Someday Soon
“I think there was sadness when Bob sold it, and I think there’ll be happiness when it’s Black-owned again — even though Shari and Viacom and Paramount [have] done a phenomenal job with it. They didn’t let it fall by the wayside, they didn’t let it go into dust, they nurtured it and took care of it,” Perry shared.
“And to see Shari at this position saying, ‘I think it should be returned to a Black owner?'” he added, “I figured, ‘OK. See, that’s my kind of person.'”
“We can very much say that there are conversations. I’m beyond interested,” he quipped, “and there will be a resolution in 22 years. Everything could align.”
Read More: Shemar Moore Set To Return to ‘The Young and the Restless’ – Rare
