In Perry's own words, Madea is "exactly the PG version of my mother and my aunt, and I loved having an opportunity to pay homage to them.

"[2] The Madea films and plays are comedies, but all contain serious themes and are intended to deliver moral messages about issues such as infidelity, spousal abuse and the consequences of one's actions.

She was charged with her first felony at this age and her crimes began progressing to illegal gambling at age 18, which later evolved into check fraud, identity theft, insurance fraud (related to her nine deceased husbands), assault, attempted murder, road rage (usually when Madea is in vehicle), and vehicle theft.

In Diary of a Mad Black Woman, Madea and her granddaughter Helen McCarter were both arrested and charged with "criminal trespassing, reckless endangerment, criminal possession of a handgun, assault with a deadly weapon, [driving on a] suspended license, expired registration, reckless driving, and a broken taillight".

After rigorous efforts, Brian was finally able to persuade Madea to accept Judge Ephraim's ruling to become the foster mother of Nikki Grady.

In Madea's Big Happy Family, Madea smashes her car into the fast-food restaurant Snax out of frustration that the manager Sabrina won't give her food, even using excuses related to her Cadillac's technical problems in order to persuade the manager to give her food while waiting.

In the animated film Madea's Tough Love, Madea is arrested for excessive damage to public property (which she unintentionally committed while chasing after two unruly skateboarders Netta and Dang Dang), two bench warrants, 25 unpaid parking tickets, and an unpaid speeding ticket.

In addition, Judge Michaels had a special ankle monitor placed on Madea to make sure she does her community service and enlists two police officers named Fred and Frank to keep an eye on her.

In the TBS comedy drama House of Payne pilot episode "Bully and the Beast", Madea was the foster mother of Nikki.

[13] On another TBS series, Meet the Browns, Mable is said to be the mother of Cora Simmons as a result of a one-night stand with the show's lead character.

[14] On January 21, 2015, Madea made a special guest appearance in the Oprah Winfrey Network comedy series, Love Thy Neighbor.

In a commercial for BET+, Tyler Perry explained this streaming service to Madea and Joe at the time when they were arguing on what to watch on TV.

Don't Make a Black Woman Take Off Her Earrings: Perry wrote the book in the character's persona.

In 2009, Entertainment Weekly put the character on its end-of-the-decade, "best-of" list, saying, "Whether she's going to jail or just opening up a can of whupass, Tyler Perry's Madea is the profane, gun-toting granny you never had but (maybe) wish you did.

Jones led the public to believe that the decision had come amid Perry's prior obligations, assisting Oprah Winfrey with her struggling OWN network.

In addition, he incorporated several pretend quotes seemingly issued by Perry, both acknowledging the news and giving Jones his blessing to continue on with the character.

[23] In addition, Tyler Perry's role as Madea has received criticism due to some viewing his cross-gender acting as a misappropriation of drag culture.

Critics have alleged Tyler Perry perpetuates patriarchal ideology through his characterisation of Madea and her interactions with other protagonists.