On Friday (January 8th), the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) hosted a luncheon for over 75 members of the media at the Eventi Hotel in New York to celebrate the premieres of new seasons of their hit series “The Haves and the Have Nots” and “Love Thy Neighbor.” Show creator Tyler Perry along with cast members John Schneider, Angela Robinson, Palmer Williams, Jr and Patrice Lovely as well as OWN president Erik Logan were in attendance.
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Before introducing Perry and the cast of the hit series, Logan greeted the guests at the luncheon by revealing that the season four premiere of The Haves and Have Nots drew over 3 million viewers when it aired on Tuesday night.
After brief clips of both series were shown, the casts and Perry took questions from the media during a Q&A style press conference. Some of the topics that were addressed during the conference included how Perry incorporates the Black Lives Matter movement into his work, as well as Perry discussing how his religious faith has helped and influenced his career.
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When asked at what point did they know they were famous Love thy Neighbor’s Patrice Lovely said, “It hasn’t hit me, but I do appreciate the fact that I can call my bossman with anything, and I’m gonna try not to tear up because this man has been there for me from day one and it was as if we knew each other when we met, it’s like we were together in a past life. I don’t know but all I know is when he writes it’s almost as I can hear what he’s about to say next and he can hear me and it’s just like we were meant to meet and we were meant to go on this journey together, and he’s helped me, he’s helped me, he’s called me, he’s calmed me down and he’s helped me stay on the path. I may not ever know in my mind that I am famous and I just don’t even think like that. I just enjoy what I’m doing, I enjoy the work, I enjoy the blessings of God and I keep on this path and I stay on this journey and I continue arise to do bigger and better things.”
In talking about the stability of working witt Mr. Perry, Lovely’s costar Palmer Williams Jr. stated, “I’m very very excited, I have the two greatest bosses that you can have in the entertainment industry, you don’t ever have to worry about a check clearing which is a very reassuring thing.”
The Haves and Have Nots which also stars Ride Along’s Tika Sumpter airs Tuesday night’s at 9 p.m., while Love Thy Neighbor airs on Friday evenings on the network.
