How A Madea Homecoming's Brandon Black Made Queer History
A Madea Homecoming, the latest installment in Tyler Perry’s Madeafranchise, the family celebrates Madea’s great-grandson’s college graduation.
Enter Brandon Black as the valedictorian and star of the celebration, Tim, who plans to use the event to come out to his entire family.
As in every other Madea film, it doesn’t take long for shenanigans and drama to make what should be an easy celebration something much more complicated, but not the way you might expect from a coming-out story.Tim is the first clearly queer character in the Madea franchise, and Black hopes his story may ease younger audiences’ fears about coming out. “I want them to know that more than trying to appease your family, you got to be yourself,” says the actor, who is gay. “You might be surprised as to what your family does when they receive who you actually are.”Spoilers ahead for those who haven’t watched the film, but happily for Tim, his coming-out falls flat when all his relatives tell him they already knew and that they were waiting for him to gather the strength to tell them.
While viewers might go into A Madea Homecoming expecting some queer family drama, it turns out it’s a safe space for Tim thanks to his accepting family. “I want to feel like people like me, they can see themselves in something that’s not always so heavy.
