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Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry aren’t afraid to mix business and friendship, and in the upcoming June issue of ESSENCE magazine the media moguls explained how they manage the best of both worlds.

“We both know how rare this is,” Winfrey said. “Where else in the history of our African-American culture have two really, really successful people who can do whatever they want said, ‘Let’s come together and be even more powerful – let’s take it to the tenth power?”

To avoid any pitfalls, Perry said he and Lady O established ground rules in their friendship.

“The most important thing about coming together was making sure we would not lose our friendship because of the business,” he said. “We had to establish ground rules. The main one: Both of us have to continue to live in our truth. If she doesn’t like something, say it. If I don’t like something, I’ll say it. And we’ll figure it out and keep moving on.”

The two are currently involved in a major partnership for OWN. In May, Perry will drop two original series for the the network, “The Haves and the Have Nots” and “Love Thy Neighbor.” In typical TP fashion, the new shows will be written, directed and produced by the screenwriter and director himself.

In a previous interview with ESSENCE, the Madea creator said Oprah “challenged me to push myself in terms of my writing and level of thinking.”

Check out the trailers for the two new scripted series below!

Tyler Perry & Oprah Reveal How They Manage Business & Friendship  was originally published on hellobeautiful.com