Tyler Perry does not want his family to live with the burden of his fame.
The filmmaker, 52, has a pretty simple explanation as to why he is planning to keep his son Aman, 7, who he shares with ex-partner Gelila Bekele, out of the spotlight.
"I want him to have as normal a life as he can," Tyler told AARP Aug. 2. "I want him to know what it's like to have his own name and his own life and not have the pressure of trying to live up to whatever or whoever your father was."
While Tyler has often kept his details about his relationships and family life mum, he got candid about waiting to speak to Aman about race until he gets older.
"I want to hold out as long as I can," he noted. "I don't want to tell him that there are people who will judge him because of the color of his skin, because right now he's in a school with every race, and all these kids are in their purest form. When he describes his friends, he never defines them by race."
The Madea creator added, "The moment he loses that innocence is going to be a very, very sad day for me. I know it's coming, though, because he's already asking some really tough questions. What I want him to be, more than anything, is somebody who sees injustice, speaks out against it and effects change."
And while Tyler has been the root of a lot of change, especially in pushing for more diversity in Hollywood, being a dad to Aman has been his biggest achievement.
"I'm Aman's father," he said. "All of this other stuff is really great. But the thing that gives me motivation every day is being Aman's father."