It's messy. Honestly, that’s the first word that comes to mind when you sit down to watch Tyler Perry’s Beauty in Black on Netflix. You’ve probably seen the clips circulating on TikTok or Twitter—tense dinner scenes, sharp dialogue, and a whole lot of family dysfunction. But if there is one character who has managed to get under everyone's skin since the show's 2024 debut, it’s Roy.
Played by Richard Lawson, Roy is the patriarch of the wealthy, high-stakes Bell family. He isn't just some background figurehead. He is the engine. He's the reason the family is so fractured, yet he’s also the glue holding their massive hair care empire together. When we talk about beauty in black roy, we aren’t just talking about a character; we are talking about a specific type of television archetype that Perry has spent years perfecting—the powerful, often manipulative older man whose legacy is built on secrets.
Let’s get real for a second. Roy isn't a "good" guy. Not really. But he is fascinating.
The Role of Roy in the Bell Family Dynasty
In the world of Beauty in Black, the Bell family runs a massive beauty conglomerate. Think along the lines of real-world legacy brands like Johnson Products Company or even the modern-day empire of Mielle Organics, but with a lot more backstabbing. Roy sits at the top of this pyramid. Richard Lawson brings a certain gravitas to the role that makes you respect Roy even when you want to yell at the screen.
He’s a man who has clearly fought his way to the top. You can see it in his posture. You hear it in the way he dismisses his sons, CJ and Horace. To Roy, his children are often disappointments or, at best, pawns in a larger game of corporate chess. This is a recurring theme in Perry's work—the idea that wealth doesn’t fix family trauma; it just gives you a bigger house to hide the trauma in.
Roy’s relationship with his wife, Olivia (played by Debbi Morgan), is where the cracks really start to show. Morgan and Lawson have this incredible onscreen chemistry that feels like decades of shared history—most of it painful. When you watch beauty in black roy interact with Olivia, you realize that their marriage isn't a partnership. It’s a negotiation.
Why Roy’s "Beauty" is Skin Deep
The title Beauty in Black is a double entendre. It refers to the industry they are in—the Black hair and beauty world—but it also refers to the external appearance of success versus the internal rot of the characters. Roy is the embodiment of this. He looks great in a suit. He speaks with authority. He represents Black excellence to the outside world.
But inside? He’s ruthless.
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Take the way he handles the stripping subplot involving the main character, Kimmie (Taylor Polidore Williams). While Roy isn't always directly in the trenches of the more scandalous plotlines, his influence is everywhere. He created the environment where money is the only metric of worth.
Critics have often pointed out that Tyler Perry’s male characters fall into two camps: the saint or the devil. Roy is a bit more nuanced, though he leans heavily toward the latter. He isn't just mean for the sake of being mean. He’s protecting a legacy. In his mind, every lie he tells and every person he crushes is a sacrifice for the Bell name. It’s that "heavy is the head that wears the crown" trope, but with a Southern gothic twist.
Richard Lawson: The Man Behind the Character
You can’t talk about beauty in black roy without talking about Richard Lawson. If he looks familiar, it’s because he’s a veteran. He’s been in everything from Poltergeist to Saints & Sinners. He also happens to be Tina Knowles' ex-husband, which gives him a real-world proximity to the kind of high-level Black royalty he portrays on screen.
Lawson doesn't play Roy as a cartoon villain. He plays him with a quiet, simmering intensity.
- He uses silence better than almost anyone else in the cast.
- His eyes always seem to be calculating the cost of the conversation.
- He portrays a man who knows he is losing control but refuses to admit it.
It’s a masterclass in "aged power." You see a man who knows his time at the top is limited, and that desperation makes him dangerous. This is why fans are so polarized by him. Some people see him as a strong father figure trying to keep a messy family together. Others see him as a toxic manipulator who destroyed his kids' mental health for a paycheck.
The Contrast of Two Worlds
The show juxtaposes the high-flying life of Roy Bell with the struggle of Kimmie, a young woman forced into the world of exotic dancing after being kicked out by her mother. This is where the "Roy" factor becomes a commentary on class.
Roy represents the "Black Elite"—the 1%. He is far removed from the struggles of the street, yet his business (beauty products) relies on the very people he likely looks down upon. There’s a specific kind of irony there. The products the Bells sell are marketed to make women feel beautiful and empowered, while Roy’s personal actions often do the exact opposite to the women in his orbit.
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Misconceptions About Roy’s Motivations
A lot of viewers think Roy is just trying to protect his business. That’s a surface-level take. If you really watch his scenes with Horace, it’s clear Roy is terrified of being forgotten. He isn't just building a company; he’s building a monument to himself.
There’s a scene where the power dynamics shift, and you see a flicker of vulnerability in Roy. It’s brief. Blink and you’ll miss it. But it suggests that Roy’s hardness is a mask he put on years ago and can no longer take off. This is what makes beauty in black roy such a polarizing figure in the Netflix top 10 charts. You want to see him fail, but you also want to see if he’s capable of redemption.
(Spoiler alert: In a Tyler Perry production, redemption usually comes with a very high price tag.)
The Scripting and the "Perry-isms"
Let's address the elephant in the room. Tyler Perry’s writing style is... unique. He writes, directs, and produces everything. This means the dialogue can sometimes feel a bit "on the nose." Roy often delivers monologues that feel like they belong on a stage play rather than a gritty Netflix drama.
"I built this from nothing!"
We’ve heard it before. But because it’s coming from Lawson, it lands differently. He gives the lines a weight that makes them feel less like clichés and more like a man repeating a mantra to convince himself it was all worth it.
What We Can Learn from Roy’s Downfall (Or Rise)
Whether you love or hate the character, Roy Bell serves as a cautionary tale about the intersection of family and business. He is the ultimate "gatekeeper." In the Black community, the "Roy" figure is someone we’ve all met—the deacon of the church, the business owner, the grandfather who everyone is afraid of but no one respects.
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He’s a reminder that:
- Success without character is just a shiny shell.
- You can’t buy loyalty; you can only rent it.
- Secrets always, always come to the surface.
How to Watch and Analyze Beauty in Black
If you’re diving into the show for the first time, don't just watch it for the soap opera twists. Watch the power play. Specifically, keep an eye on how Roy uses the word "family." To him, family is a brand. To his children, it’s a cage.
The show is currently streaming on Netflix, and it has already sparked massive debates about colorism, classism, and the portrayal of Black families in media. Roy sits at the center of all those debates.
Actionable Insights for Viewers and Aspiring Creators
If you are watching Beauty in Black or looking to understand the character dynamics of beauty in black roy better, here is how to process the narrative:
- Analyze the Archetypes: Look at Roy as a "King Lear" figure. He is an aging ruler trying to decide which of his unworthy heirs should take the throne. This helps move the show from "soap opera" to "classic tragedy."
- Observe the Visual Cues: Notice the lighting in Roy’s office compared to the lighting in Kimmie’s world. Roy is often surrounded by gold tones and mahogany—colors of stability and wealth—while the rest of the world is blue, harsh, and neon.
- Study Richard Lawson’s Craft: For those interested in acting, Lawson’s performance is a lesson in "status." He always plays the highest status in the room, regardless of who he is talking to. He does this through stillness, not through shouting.
- Join the Conversation: The best way to enjoy Perry's work is through the community. Follow the hashtags on social media during a rewatch. The "live-tweeting" culture around Roy's decisions provides a deeper look into how audiences perceive Black fatherhood and leadership today.
Roy Bell isn't a character you're supposed to like, but he is a character you can't ignore. In the landscape of 2024 and 2025 television, he stands out as one of the most complex patriarchs we've seen in a long time. Whether he finds peace or ends up losing the empire he spent his life building is the question that keeps us hitting "Next Episode."