On Sunday March 27th, stars came together for the 94th Academy Awards ceremony at Dolby Theater in Hollywood.

With the ceremony back to its pre-COVID levels of excitement and all of Hollywood’s biggest stars gathered together, there was no better time to celebrate the lives of the legends we have lost this year. Tyler Perry kicked off the “In Memoriam” segment by honoring the life of Sidney Poitier.

“He was the first, and for far too long, the only Black man to win an Oscar for best actor,” said Perry. “When he stood on that stage, he did more than shatter a barrier. He stood there for all that came before him, and sparked the dreams of all who followed. To quote Mr. Poitier himself, ‘As the cats say in my area, I’m out there wailing for us all.’ I would not be here today without Sidney. All of us are so blessed and honored to have been inspired by him. To you, sir, with all of our love.”

Perry has been vocal about grieving Poitier commenting, “All I can tell you is that my heart broke in another place… there is no man in this business who has been more of a North Star for me.”

At last year’s ceremony, Perry was honored with The Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award for an “individual in the motion picture industry whose humanitarian efforts have brought credit to the industry.”