Tyler Perry Attempted to Pay TSA Agents Amid Shutdown

Tyler Perry was trying to help out some Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents at the Hartsfield-Jackson Airport in Georgia as the partial government shutdown continues, Us Weekly can confirm.

According to local Atlanta outlet 11Alive, several sources reported Perry, 56, attempting to give a “significant” amount of money to airport employees. It was reported that the media mogul wanted to lessen the financial strain on some TSA workers amid the government shutdown.

However, the employees were unable to accept the generous offer.

Us has reached out to Perry’s team for further comment. The outlet claimed that several restrictions barred the TSA agents from taking Perry’s money. A report from the Associated Press earlier this month explained that TSA officers are “prohibited from accepting gifts at screening locations,” according to the Department of Homeland Security.

President of the Georgia Local chapter of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) union Aaron Barker told AP that TSA officer unions operate differently. The union can accept donations which can be distributed to members, he explained. TSA agents have been without pay for more than one month since the partial government shutdown went into effect last month.

More than 120,000 Department of Homeland Security employees, including over 50,000 TSA agents, have been impacted.

“For some people it can be life or death,” AFGE president Barker told AP.

“It’s just sad and terrible that this is happening.” Perry is no stranger to calling out and assisting causes he feels passionate about. The actor made headlines in January 2025 after criticizing insurance companies who changed their policies amid the Los Angeles wildfires.

“Watching a daughter use a garden hose to try and protect her 90-year-old parents’ home because their insurance was canceled was just gut-wrenching to me,” he shared via Instagram at the time. The Los Angeles Times reported that State Farm General — California’s largest home insurer — announced in March 2024 that it wasn’t renewing 30,000 home and condominium policies once they expired. It was reported that 1,600 of the impacted homes were in the Pacific Palisades area, which was impacted by the wildfires.

“Does anyone else find it appalling that insurance companies can take billions of dollars out of communities for years and then, all of a sudden, be allowed to cancel millions of policies for the very people they became rich on?” Perry’s social media statement continued.

“People who have paid premiums all of their lives are left with nothing because of pure greed.”