Actor and Hollywood power producer Tyler Perry tipped workers at a Houston’s restaurant in Georgia a staggering $21,000 to help them through the economic hardship they face as a result of the Chinese coronavirus pandemic.
TMZ reports that Tyler Perry, who regularly frequents the chain in the Northside Parkway district of Atlanta for takeout orders, left the equivalent of $500 each for 42 of the restaurant’s wait staff who cannot work due to the current lockdown throughout the state of Georgia.
On Thursday, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp ordered a statewide lockdown with the exception of beaches, parks, churches, and gun stores. As of Sunday evening, the state had recorded over 6,700 cases of the virus and 219 deaths, with that number only set to rise.
The money will likely serve as a vital source of income for many of the out-of-work employees, who may have to wait for weeks to receive compensation from the federal government.
Unlike many Hollywood figures, the Tyler Perry Studios founder generally prefers to avoid politics and instead focuses on non-partisan charity work motivated by his Christian faith. Last September, the Madea Family Funeral star sent a plane full of essential supplies to the most damaged areas of the Bahamas following last year’s Hurricane Dorian.
Other charitable acts have included donating $100,000 to underprivileged schools in Ohio and sponsoring dozens of children from a Philadelphia day camp to visit Walt Disney World.
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