Tyler Perry donates $1M to Harvey relief

On Thursday, Tyler Perry donated $1 million toward the relief effort in the wake of the devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey, and $250,000 is going toward Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church.

“I know that there’s been some controversy about Joel Osteen and him not opening the doors of the church,” Perry said. “Joel and Victoria are amazing people — there’s no way that they would lock people out of the church or not let people seek shelter.”

“There were some safety concerns, and I spoke to them on the phone, and it all made perfect sense to me,” Perry added. “So, before you just run and judge someone real quick, you need to know the whole circumstances.”

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Osteen came under fire on social media after he posted online that the church was closed and would not be holding services on Sunday because of flooding issues. While he posted that he was praying for the people who had been affected by the storm, many people called him out and accused him of not doing enough, urging him to open the doors of his church to those who had been displaced by the floodwaters.

On Tuesday, Osteen announced that the church was opening its doors to victims and that they were gathering donations and supplies to help with the relief effort.