Augusta's 'Teen Madea' meets Tyler Perry

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

News 12 at 6 O'clock

AUGUSTA, GA (WRDW/WAGT) -- Most days, Genesis Williams is a normal teenager at Richmond Academy. Others, he transforms into Madea, the sassy character created and portrayed by Tyler Perry.

"When I put on the costume, I'm a whole new person. Just a whole new person," said Williams.

It started as a parody for his Youtube channel, but turned into something a whole lot bigger.

"It's very hard for someone to get bullied. It's very hard. Some people don't think it's bullying. Some people say it's joking around sometimes. No, if the person - if their feelings get hurt, that's how you know it's bullying. That's how you know you need to stop," he said.

When one of Williams' teachers at the James Brown Academy of Musik Pupils invited him to tag along with her to a celebrity car show at Tyler Perry Studios, where he got to meet his idol.

"Oh my gosh. It inspired me not just to keep doing Madea, but keep doing what I do - keeping up the good grades, keeping up the community work...it inspired me so much," said Williams.

While Williams was starstruck by Perry, Perry's team was starstruck by Williams.

"The security guard stopped me at Tyler Perry Studios and said 'hey, don't I know you from the news?' And I said, 'oh my god.' He said I was the talked on the street at the Tyler Perry Studios," he said.

As Tyler Perry's Madea continues to be an international superstar, Genesis Williams' Madea hopes to expand his work in Augusta.

All the money Williams makes from appearances goes right back into buying school supplies for the kids he visits.