Tyler Perry opens up about his past suicide attempts in the wake of Stephen 'tWitch' Boss's' death by suicide
- Tyler Perry posted an Instagram video opening up about his previous suicide attempts.
- Perry's revelations come after news of Stephen 'tWitch' Boss' death by suicide on Wednesday.
Tyler Perry opened up on social media about his own previous suicide attempts in the wake of Stephen 'tWitch' Boss' death by suicide on Wednesday.
Perry posted a lengthy Instagram video captioned "Life..." on Thursday that reflected on tWitch and his death, as well as his experiences.
"I like the rest of the world am shocked by the death of Stephen Boss, tWitch," Perry said, adding, "I've only met him a couple of times. He always seemed full of life, it seemed like. Such a light."
Perry then reflected on his own "dark" times in the past when he had attempted suicide several times.
"I just want to take you back to a time in my life when I tried to commit suicide, a couple of times, because it was so dark I didn't think it would get any better," he said. "I had endured so much pain, so much abuse, sexual abuse. It was all so hard to just move through that. I thought the only way to make this better was to end my life."
Perry added: "Had any of those attempts happened, I would've missed the best part of my life."
The filmmaker, who said he is now "the happiest he's ever been," urged people viewing his Instagram post who are "going through some things" to contact someone for help. For those contemplating suicide, Perry recommended they call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988.
"My hope is that if you need help, that you reach out," Perry said. "Call this number. God bless you. I'm with you. I'm a living witness you can make it through it. I'm so glad my attempts didn't work. I'm still alive. The best part of my life, and I would've missed it had I decided to end it."
Perry added: "Let's end this new year loving us, loving on each other, encouraging ourselves, this is gonna take that from within. God bless you. Rest in peace, tWitch."