Meghan Markle is among several historic figures - including Oprah and Maya Angelou - featured in project celebrating Black women, helmed by her pal Tyler Perry
- The Duchess of Sussex was featured in an Instagram teaser for the song
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Meghan Markle is among the several celebrated figures - including Beyonce, Oprah and Maya Angelou - who features in a project commemorating the work of Black women, helmed by her pal Tyler Perry.
The Duchess of Sussex was included in a heartfelt tribute, which compiled photos of historical icons like Nina Simone as well as more recent personas, like Kamala Harris.
Other snaps featured regular women at work or simply in their communities, as well at political protests and rallies.
On Instagram, Tyler shared the promotional clip for a new song - BLKWMN - which flicked through black and white photos, set to a new upcoming track, written by singer Ledisi and producer Jocmusiq.
The tune, which will be available on February 21, is set to a smooth melody, starting off with the stunning lyrics: 'Black hue, born from a golden hour...'
It is suggested a video element - filmed by Tyler Perry and Kvle Johnson - will also be in place.
The shot of Meghan, 43, is the same portrait used by the Duchess to promote her Archetypes podcast on Spotify.
Other famous faces in the gallery included Queen Latifah, Tracee Ellis Ross and Quinta Brunson.
Meghan Markle (left) is among the several celebrated figures who features in a project commemorating the work of Black women, helmed by her pal Tyler Perry (right)
Talk show host Oprah Winfrey (left) also features in the project, as does singer Beyonce (right)
Tracee - also understood to be friends with Meghan - shared the teaser on her own social media, writing: 'Thank you @ledisi and @tylerperry for including me in the beautiful tribute to Black women.'
Tyler and Meghan have long been known to be close - just in December, the mother-of-two supported her friend at The Paley Honors gala in Beverly Hills.
The Duchess was seen hugging and holding hands with the billionaire filmmaker, 55 - demonstrating the typical pally affection she displays towards her most loyal allies.
Meghan and her husband Prince Harry, 40 - who recently said the pair have no plans to return to the United Kingdom - were part of the Tribute Host Committee Chairs for the event, though he was not present on the red carpet.
The event marked Meghan and Tyler's first red carpet appearance together - but despite only being seen in each other's company a handful of times over the years, they have shown their unwavering support for one another on numerous occasions.
In many ways, the Madea actor was the key figure facilitating Meghan and Harry's move to the US - offering his private jet for their so-called 'freedom flight' to relocate the couple from the home in Vancouver, where they had been staying.
The shot of Meghan, 43, is the same portrait used by the Duchess to promote her Archetypes podcast on Spotify
The Duchess of Sussex was clearly glad to see her long-term pal as they shared a hug at the Paley Center Fall gala in December
Famously, it was Perry who offered up his $18million home in Santa Barbara for the couple to live in in the early days after quitting the royal family in 2020.
According to The Cut, Tyler offering his home to the pair 'became, in many ways, the reason that Meghan and Harry started their new life in Southern California.'
He was also a key figure in Meghan and Harry's bombshell Netflix documentary, and is so close to the couple that he is godfather to their daughter Princess Lilibet, three.
The first public signs of their blossoming friendship came in early 2020 when Tyler expressed sympathy for Meghan, referencing comments that she made to ITV news presenter Tom Bradby for a documentary shot in Africa.
He said: 'Remember when Meghan Markle did that interview? She said "Thanks for asking if I'm okay. Because no one ever asks me that."
'I felt her when she said that. People toss it out. "How are you doing?" But not many people really mean it. Or pay attention to the answer'
After Harry and Meghan announced that they were saying goodbye to their royal duties and relocating to California, the couple, along with their then-one-year-old son, Archie, spent a few months living in Tyler's Beverly Hills mansion.
The sprawling 22-acre estate is set in the ultra-exclusive Beverly Ridge Estates guard-gated community, offering sweeping views of the city from the backyard.
Tyler denied that Meghan and Harry had been introduced to them by mutual friend Oprah (pictured on her show)
It was from there that the duo celebrated Archie's first birthday - and where he took his first steps - as they shared tiny glimpses of the home while appearing on video chats and in social media clips throughout their stay.
During an interview with The Cut in 2022, Meghan, spoke out about her bond with Tyler, explaining that he got in touch with her after she first wed Harry in 2018.
She added that he sent her a 'note' in which he said he 'understood' the intense pressure she was under, and encouraged her to reach out if she ever needed help.
She soon began to open up to him about her struggles and the two grew close, despite them never even meeting in person.
'Sometimes, you can tell your life story to a stranger on a plane as opposed to some of the people that are closest to you,' she told The Cut.
Meanwhile Tyler previously shared about his friendship with the royal couple: 'They hid out at my house for a long time. It was so great.'
Speaking on Kelly Ripa's podcast in 2023, The Hollywood titan revealed that the duo had previously shared the same publicist whom he used to deliver a message of support.
'I sent them a note... and just said, "If you ever need anything, I'm here," and she called months later and just talked to me like I was a therapist and we just had a great conversation.'
Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey 'Tyler Perry's BOO! A Madea Halloween' film premiere, Los Angeles in 2016
'It is very important for people in this business to have a safe place to land, to have a place where they can trust and talk freely and get advice that's not going to be biased or from somebody who wants something from them.'
Elaborating further, he said: 'Every day. Every day that they were there, I looked to see if anything's happening online. Nothing. They don't even know, so weeks and weeks they were there.
Tyler also featured in Meghan and Harry's Netflix series - where their closest confidantes and allies gave testimonies about their lives during and after the royal family.
He said he'd been inspired to get in touch with Meghan after seeing stories about her relationship with her father Thomas Markle in the press.
He said: 'I'm not a royal watcher, I don't really pay attention to a lot of stuff,' he said. 'But I saw something about her father [posing for the paparazzi]. I found it to be hurtful if he were my father.
'And I couldn't even imagine this woman finding the man that she loved, the man of her dreams, and him being a Prince, and then to walk into all of that madness and need the security of family and then have your father do some horrible things.'
Meghan added: 'That's where Tyler came into the picture,' she recalled. 'I had never met him before. He sent me a letter before the wedding just saying he was praying for me. And that if I ever needed anything he would be there.
'Months and months and months went by. And then one day when we were in Canada I had called him. Finally, after years at that point.
'[It was] the first time we ever spoke. And I was just a wreck, I was crying and crying. Like sometimes it's easier to just open up to someone who knows nothing at all. And that was that moment with me and Tyler.'
Meghan recalled Tyler asking them, 'What can I do to make it easier? How can I help you?'
'He was like, "My house is safe and I'll make sure you have security. Take your time." I was like, "We only need to stay for a week, we can find somewhere to live,"' she continued.
'He was like, "You're not just going to stay for a week, you're going to stay for as long as you need and I'm going to get you there safely. And I'm gonna keep you there safely until you have somewhere to go."'
'They just wanted to be free. Be free to love and be happy. They did not have a plan. There was no plan,' Tyler added.
Perry previously explained why he offered help to the couple, insisting that it was a 'very difficult time for them' and that he wanted to 'support them' in any way possible.
The filmmaker added that he was inspired by Harry and Meghan's love, telling the Today show: 'What I know about the two of them - and I wish the world knew - how much these two people love each other.
'They found each other, out of all these odds against them finding each other, they found each other.
'The love they have is really, really moving and I wanted to do anything I could to support them.'
He added of Meghan and Harry’s relationship: 'If I don't have that, what she and Harry have, I don't want it. That's really amazing.'
After Meghan and Harry purchased their own house, a sprawling mansion in Montecito located just a stone's throw from the home of another celebrity pal, Oprah, Tyler sent them a generous housewarming gift - a grand piano - with a note that read, 'Write the soundtrack for your life.'
He has since visited the couple, arriving on his $125million private jet in March 2023.
He flew for 20 minutes to Santa Barbara, where he and the Sussexes met for about two hours before he headed back to his jet, which then made its way to his empire in Atlanta, Georgia.
The plane was the same one Perry let Meghan and Harry use for their 'freedom flight' from to America in 2020, as they set out to begin their new lives.
For Meghan's birthday in 2022, the Madea star shared a sweet tribute to her on Instagram.
'I've had a front row seat in your life for the past few years. I've watched you endure things that would have broken a lot of people,' he gushed.
'I'm so incredibly proud to see how happy you, your husband, and your kids are now.'
He is also godfather to Harry and Meghan's daughter, Princess Lilibet, three.
Tyler reportedly attended her birthday party in June as she turned three, according to People Magazine.
However, in December 2022, Tyler revealed he'd refused to travel to the UK for Lilibet's christening, despite being her godfather.
He suggested that he didn't want to take part in the pomp and circumstance of a traditional royal ceremony, telling the couple's bombshell Netflix docuseries that he didn't want to 'do all of that in the church with them and figure all of that out.'
In September, Meghan and Harry attended Tyler's star-studded 55th birthday bash with Oprah - showing that their friendship has only gone from strength to strength in recent months.
They appeared to be in great spirits, with Meghan grinning and giggling next to her husband in the backseat of a black Range Rover.
They spent hours partying with close pal Tyler, late into the night.
Prior to their friendship, both Tyler and Meghan were close with tennis pro Serena Williams, who Meghan first met in 2010 at the Super Bowl.
Meanwhile Serena and Tyler posed together at a 2014 Vanity Fair Oscar Awards afterparty. In addition, they have strong friendships with talk show host Oprah, and have both in the past been spotted with pop superstar Beyoncé.
