Tyler Perry will soon hang up Madea's wig.
During a recent appearance on Bevy Smith's SiriusXM radio show, the actor/comedian/filmmaker announced he will retire the iconic character in 2019, two decades after she was introduced to audiences.
"It's time for me to kill that old b***h. I'm tired, man" Perry told Smith on Monday. "I just don't want to be her age, playing her."
Perry, 49, debuted Mabel Earlene "Madea" Simmons in the 1999 play I Can Do Bad All by Myself. The gun-toting, tough-talking grandmother would go on to star in multiple film installments, including Diary of a Mad Black Woman (2005), Madea Goes to Jail (2009), A Madea Christmas (2013), and, most recently Boo 2! A Madea Halloween (2017).
Perry said the upcoming A Madea Family Funeral will serve as the character's swan song. He also announced that a farewell stage tour is in the works, so fans can get a proper good-bye. The news drew mixed reactions from audiences.
Perry's A Madea Family Funeral will hit theaters March 1, 2019. The multi-hyphenate's latest project, Nobody’s Fool starring Tiffany Haddish, arrives this weekend.
