Tyler Perry is calling out insurance companies that canceled policies for thousands of homeowners ahead of the Los Angeles wildfires.
In an Instagram post on Sunday (January 12), Perry spoke out about the "appalling" situation after learning about reports of a woman who stayed in a mandatory evacuation zone to try to save her parents' home because their fire insurance was canceled.
"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," Perry wrote in his post.
"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?" he continued. "People who have paid premiums all of their lives are left with nothing because of pure greed."
Perry's comments come after several wildfires began to break out in Los Angeles County on Tuesday (January 7). A fire in the Pacific Palisades, a community bordering Malibu and Santa Monica, burned nearly 24,000 acres as of Sunday (January 12). Another severe wildfire, known as the Eaton Fire, burned roughly 14,000 acres near Pasadena and Altadena. Emergency responders are still working to contain these and several other fires around southern California.
Insurance companies are facing backlash for canceling thousands of home insurance policies in recent months, leaving people with no protection as their residences burn in the Los Angeles wildfires. According to reports, State Farm canceled more than 70,000 home insurance policies last year. The cancelation affected more than 70 percent of homes in the Pacific Palisades area.
In Sunday's Instagram post, Perry said he was researching how to effectively help LA residents amid the crisis.
"As I am in the process of trying to figure out what steps to take to do all I can to help as many as I can, I am keeping everyone in my prayers," Perry said.
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