The Duchess of Sussex made a solo appearance in Los Angeles to pay tribute to Tyler Perry on Wednesday, December 4 — and she couldn’t help but miss an appearance in the middle of dinner.

The prolific film director and producer was honored by the Paley Center for Media, and the duchess co-chaired the Paley Honors committee alongside Whoopi Goldberg, Taraji P. Henson and Kerry Washington.

As the gala took a turn toward charity, encouraging guests to raise paddles to donate money, Kerry and Meghan were spotted creating their own dance moves as the appeals specialist called out the paddling numbers in time.

Watch the video below:

The event was a tribute to Tyler’s “remarkable and enduring career that continues to break barriers, dispel negative stereotypes, educate audiences and bring people together through his bold and original storytelling.”

Meghan, 43, looked beautiful in a black strapless Oscar de la Renta dress paired with a custom Logan Hollowell necklace, a Cartier Love necklace and Celine heels. She wore her famous raven mane pinned up and flawless natural makeup accentuated her pretty features.

© Momodu Mansaray

Although she didn’t appear on stage, she sat next to Tyler at dinner, where the couple was spotted HELLO! in an intensive conversation, alongside Kerry and Oprah Winfrey.

The group dined on smoked burrata caprese salad, tenderloin and a selection of desserts, while Meghan had a glass of Sauvignon Blanc in front of her.

© Michael Buckner

However, it was an evening full of emotions as both Kerry and Oprah were in tears as the 55-year-old director spoke of his traumatic childhood, during which he witnessed and was a victim of physical, verbal and sexual abuse from his father Abuse by family friends.

“I would say, at 55, I’m the freest version of myself I’ve ever been,” he said. “I turn to all this pain, throw my arms up and embrace it in every way, stare at the shame and take the strength from it so that I can heal it, and I challenge you and each of you to do the same. “”

© Leon Bennett

“I don’t know how much time I have left on this planet, but I know that I want as much love as possible and to spread as much joy and good as I can,” he concluded.

“I want to make my mother proud and I want to make my son proud of his father, something I could never be from a man who raised me, and I want to thank everyone here who showed up for me.”

© Leon Bennett

Meghan first met Tyler in 2020 when he allowed the duchess and her husband, Prince Harry, to live in his $18 million Los Angeles home during a difficult time in the couple’s life.

“Everyone thought Oprah was going to introduce us, but Oprah didn’t even know that I reached out to her and messaged them through our message. We had the same publicist years ago and just said, ‘If you ever need anything, I’m here,’ and she called months later and just talked to me like I was a therapist to talk to and we “We just had a great conversation,” he revealed in 2023 about how they bonded.

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“That’s why it’s very important for people in this business to have a safe place to land, a place where they can trust and speak freely and get advice that isn’t biased or from someone who has something from them, and they hid.” It was so great at my house.

They later asked the Hollywood mogul to be the godfather of their daughter Lilibet.

Tyler also offered the couple his “security” while they lived in his home after their British taxpayer-funded protection was removed in the wake of their decision to step down as senior royals.