Tyler Perry Hires Actress Who Posted Billboard

Racquel Bailey was an aspiring actress in Georgia who desperately wanted to get Tyler Perry’s attention. Starting in 2012, she got creative and paid for ads on billboards in Atlanta. Eight years later, she will be featured in tomorrow night’s episode of Sistas.

The 33-year-old told CNN about her audition for Sistas, “I wasn’t looked at as the billboard girl — I was looked at as an actress.”

Bailey will be playing Officer Rayah, who threatens to arrest the character Zac. See the preview below and Racquel can be seen at the :22 mark.

As for the billboard, after seeing the ad in June, Perry took to his Instagram to explicitly request that no one else attempt to pull the same stunt. “This is not the way to get my attention if you’re looking for a role in one of my shows,” he wrote, in part. “Please DON’T DO THIS, SAVE YOUR MONEY!! This is the third time that someone has done this. PLEASE STOP! To audition is FREE!! I’m sure you can use that money for a better purpose. I love that you want to work with me, and I love that you invest in yourself. But when you do things like this it puts my team on high alert and makes me look at you sideways.”

That said, Perry told Jimmy Kimmel in October, he didn’t end up finding out that Bailey was the same woman who took out the billboard ad until after he hired her — meaning she landed the job based on her own merits.

Be sure to watch Sistas Wednesdays at 9/8c right here on BET.