Tyler Perry’s TSA gift cards are not being returned, according to new reporting that contradicts earlier claims.
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Journalist Loren Lorosa reports that TSA agents at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport were not required to return the $1,000 gift cards distributed by Perry during the government shutdown. Those earlier reports suggested workers had been instructed to give the money back due to federal ethics rules.
However, a representative for Tyler Perry says that information is incorrect. For context, Perry distributed $250,000 worth of gift cards to TSA workers last Friday. Each worker received $1,000 as they continued working without pay during the shutdown.
Perry’s team says the effort was coordinated in advance.
A rep for Tyler Perry tells Lorosa:
“As you probably saw, our client Tyler Perry donated $250,000 worth of gift cards to TSA workers in Atlanta on Friday. Our team worked really closely with a TSA supervisor there to make sure this was handled properly and by the book. There is now a report going around now that these gift cards were returned, and that is inaccurate – nothing has been returned to Tyler, nor has anyone notified us that they will be returned.”
So while reports about returned gift cards circulated widely, Perry’s team says no funds have been given back and no request to return them has been communicated.
