Work that pays $65 an hour isn’t a far-fetched reality. And for entertainment mogul Tyler Perry, paying talent in his hair department that’s responsible for styling wigs and more for his productions comes at that price tag — if he wants to leave his viewers with positive things to say about what they see on their screens.
“I hire people to do hair. Pay them $65 an hour,” he said. “You heard that right. Sixty-five dollars an hour. They work 10 to 12 hours a day to make sure the hair is right. That’s their job, so I’m paying them to do their job and they’re doing that.”
According to a resurfaced clip posted by Neighborhood Talk from September 2021 interview with Perry, he revealed the hourly salaries of the wigs stylists for his various TV shows.
Perry’s Wig Drama
Perry has a number of TV shows currently on the air, but one in particular seemed to be stressing him out.
“Sistas” is his soap series that follows the turbulent love lives of five highly successful Black women living in Atlanta. The BET series stars KJ Smith, Mignon Von, Ebony Obsidian, Crystal Hayslett, and Novi Brown–and requires a lot of hair and wig styling.
Once, Obsidian’s character, Karen, had a wig on that left female viewers in an uproar over the wig’s style and condition.
During the 2021 airing of “The Tyler Perry Show: Sistas After-Show Edition,” Perry expressed frustration with ongoing discussions and criticism regarding the wigs used in his TV series “Sistas.”
“I want all of y’all to stop talking about hair to me, please,” Perry said. “I swear to you, these are the things I can do: I can run a company, I can build a house, I can go on stage. I do all of this stuff. I know what I do. I don’t know how to do hair. I don’t know nothing about it.”
In the after-show interview, Perry explained that he employs professional hairdressers who are paid $65 an hour, between 10 and 12 hours a day, to handle the hair and styling for the show.
He emphasized that he is happy with the stylists’ work.
“They’re doing a great job. Sometimes, things slip because I move a little fast, but they get it done,” Perry defended.
Based on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, the mean annual wage for hairdressers, hairstylists and cosmetologists is estimated to be $38,910, equivalent to just under $19 per hour.
