Current:Home > FinanceTyler Perry building new home for 93-year-old South Carolina woman fighting developers -Excel Wealth Summit
Tyler Perry building new home for 93-year-old South Carolina woman fighting developers
Rekubit Exchange View
Date:2025-04-09 22:50:49
Hollywood heavyweight Tyler Perry has stepped in to help a 93-year-old South Carolina woman fighting developers over a home that's been in her family since the end of the Civil War.
Bailey Point Investment Group sued Hilton Head Island resident Josephine Wright over her home in February, arguing that her screened-in porch, a shed and a satellite dish were encroaching on the company's property, causing a nuisance, lowering property values and delaying their development plans.
Bailey Point Investment owns land on every side of Wright's 1.8-acre property after acquiring it in 2014, and is developing a 147-home subdivision in the area. The company tried to buy Wright's property a few years back, offering just $39,000, she told USA TODAY.
Wright countersued the company, enlisted the help of a civil rights attorney and the ensuing press coverage caught Perry's attention in June.
Now the "Madea" actor is building her a five-bedroom home, TMZ reported.
'Messing with the wrong lady':93-year-old South Carolina woman fights off developers
Josephine Wright's history on Hilton Head Island
Wright has been living at the home on Hilton Head for the past 30 years, after she and her husband retired from their jobs in New York City.
After her husband died in 1998, it has just been Wright there, although the home is a favorite gathering spot among her 16 children, 40 grandchildren, 54 great-grandchildren and 16 great-great-grandchildren.
“This has always been a sanctuary,” Wright told USA TODAY.
Up until last year, that is. That's when Wright said Bailey Point Investment began doing work around and even on her property, like cutting down trees and kicking up dust that covered her car and house. Around the same time, she said other strange things started happening, including flattened tires and a snake hanging in a window.
The situation escalated with the company's lawsuit and Wright's countersuit and gained national news coverage.
Perry posted a TV station's story that quoted Wright as saying, "I’ve pretty much been a fighter all my life.”
"Well, that makes two of us. Ms. Wright," Perry wrote. "Please tell where to show up and what you need to help you fight."
Tyler Perry 'has made a significant difference'
Wright's granddaughter, Charise Graves, started a GoFundMe in May to help her grandmother fight off the developers.
Soon after that, celebrities including recording artists Fantasia and Meek Mill posted their support. Dallas Mavericks star guard Kyrie Irving donated $40,000 to the GoFundMe, and Snoop Dogg contributed $10,000.
Graves recently updated the GoFundMe to report that a tree fell on Wright's home while she was out of the house in September, creating two holes in her roof.
Perry is now paying for a new house to replace Wright's current home, and construction crews are expected to break ground in the coming weeks, TMZ reported.
They may just start in time for Wright's 94th birthday next month.
Perry's representatives didn't immediately respond to a request from USA TODAY on Wednesday for more information about his donation.
Graves confirmed the news on GoFundMe, expressing her gratitude to Perry on Wednesday.
"Tyler Perry's friendship has made a significant difference in Grandma's life, and we are truly thankful for his kindness and generosity," she wrote, adding that Irving made a second donation to her grandmother's cause following the roof damage.
"Everyone's gesture of support and solidarity means the world to us but Kyrie has gone above and beyond anything that we could have imagined from one donor and we are forever grateful," she wrote. "Kyrie, your invite to the new home is in the mail!"
veryGood! (44)
Related
- DoorDash steps up driver ID checks after traffic safety complaints
- John Cena Is Naked at the 2024 Oscars and You Don't Want to Miss This
- Read all about it: The popularity of turning captions on
- Emily Blunt and Ryan Gosling's Hilariously Frosty Oscars Confrontation Reignites Barbenheimer Battle
- SFO's new sensory room helps neurodivergent travelers fight flying jitters
- See Emma Stone, Margot Robbie and More Stars' Fashion Transformations for Oscars 2024 After-Parties
- Paris Jackson's NSFW 2024 Oscar Party Look Will Make Your Jaw Drop
- What is the NFL tampering window? Everything to know about pre-free agency period
- Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
- Stock market today: Asian shares mostly lower, Japan’s Nikkei 225 falls 2.5%
Ranking
- Sam Taylor
- George Soros’ Open Society Foundations name new president after years of layoffs and transition
- Jimmy Kimmel fires back after Trump slams 'boring' Oscars: 'Isn't it past your jail time?'
- Chris Evans and Wife Alba Baptista Make Marvelous Red Carpet Debut at Vanity Fair Oscars Party
- EU countries double down on a halt to Syrian asylum claims but will not yet send people back
- 'Oppenheimer' star Cillian Murphy wins first Oscar at 96th Academy Awards
- Emma Stone Has Wardrobe Malfunction While Accepting Best Actress Award at 2024 Oscars
- Vanessa Hudgens is pregnant, revealing baby bump at Oscars
Recommendation
US appeals court rejects Nasdaq’s diversity rules for company boards
Emma Stone Has Wardrobe Malfunction While Accepting Best Actress Award at 2024 Oscars
Monica Sementilli says she did not help plan the murder of her L.A. beauty exec husband. Will a jury believe her?
What stores are open Easter 2024? See details for Target, Walmart, Home Depot, TJ Maxx
Jamie Foxx gets stitches after a glass is thrown at him during dinner in Beverly Hills
50-foot sperm whale beached on sandbar off coast of Venice, Florida
Charlize Theron Has Best Reaction to Guillermo's Tequila Shoutout at 2024 Oscars
'A stunning turnabout': Voters and lawmakers across US move to reverse criminal justice reform