Tyler Perry donates $100K to legal defense fund for Breonna Taylor's boyfriend

Film and TV mogul Tyler Perry has donated $100K to the legal defense fund of Kenneth Walker, the boyfriend of Breonna Taylor, the 26-year-old Black woman who was killed in her own home by Louisville Metro Police Department plainclothes officers Jonathan Mattingly, Brett Hankison, and Myles Cosgrove. According to PEOPLE, the 51-year-old helped Walker and his legal team surpass their goal of $100K by making two donations of $10,000 as well as $50,000 and $30,000 contributions. The GoFundMe page Perry donated to was launched on behalf of Walker to help raise funds for the legal battle against Mattingly, who sued him for "battery, assault, and emotional distress" back in October.

Mattingly claims he experienced "severe trauma, mental anguish, and emotional distress" on March 13 — the night of the fatal shooting — during which Walker shot him in the leg. Walker, a licensed gun-owner, has long maintained that he believed someone was trying to break into the apartment. "Donations will go towards Kenneth Walker’s legal expenses in his defense against Mattingly’s lawsuit and related litigation," reads a statement on the GoFundMe page created by Jacob Romines, who is the "son of Steve Romines, Kenneth's attorney in his suit against" the Louisville Metro Police Department.

"Louisville was outraged. The nation was furious. Kenneth, who had been dealing with grief, pain, and anger for months, could hardly believe it. The injustice was and is staggering. And then, on top of all that, Jon Mattingly sued Kenny," the page said in a separate statement. "Enough is enough. From the moment officers falsely obtained the warrant through lies and perjury until today, Kenny has been suffered one injustice after another." While Walker was initially charged with attempted murder for allegedly shooting an officer in the thigh with the bullet, those charges have since been dismissed.

Walker later filed a civil suit against the department while Mattingly sought a jury trial, damages, and attorney/medical fees after being shot in the thigh on the night of the botched raid. "Sgt. Mattingly was shot and nearly killed by Kenneth Walker. He’s entitled to, and should, use the legal process to seek a remedy for the injury that Walker has caused him," Mattingly's attorney, Kent Wicker, previously said in a statement. "It's outrageous for one of the men partially responsible for all that, to sue the man who endured it," said the GoFundMe page.

"The raid that killed Breonna Taylor was poorly conceived, nightmarishly executed, and hastily covered-up. The subsequent grand jury proceedings were farcical and staged. Daniel Cameron's statements were disingenuous, at best. Jon Mattingly's lawsuit is the nearly-unbelievable next step in this ongoing mockery of justice," it added. Speaking to PEOPLE, Walker's attorney, Steve Romines said: "This is the latest in a cycle of police aggression, deflection of responsibility, and obstruction of the facts in what is an obvious coverup. The counterclaim just brings it full circle."

"If Kenny can be sued for defending himself, make no mistake, all lawful gun owners' rights are at risk. And that should scare everyone. We intend to defend Kenny —once again— from baseless charges intended to harm, intimidate, and cover up the events of March 13, 2020," he added. The donation to Walker's legal fund is the latest of Perry's generous philanthropic efforts this year. According to Deadline, most recently the celeb's studio distributed non-perishable food items and gift cards to families in need in Atlanta during Thanksgiving.