Soul legend Diana Ross wants no part in Tyler Perry's plans to aid her big screen comeback and has been ignoring his phone calls "for years", according to the movie mogul.
Perry revealed earlier this year (12) that he had written a film especially for the Motown icon in a bid to put her back on the big screen 40 years after she won critical acclaim and an Oscar nomination for her portrayal of Billie Holiday in 1972's Lady Sings the Blues.
He said, "I have the perfect role for her... It's a jazz movie set in the 1940s, and (Ross) would play a jazz singer who runs a juke joint (music venue), and I just wish she would do it."
Perry has reached out to Ross to bring the screenplay to life, but he admits the former Supremes diva has been snubbing his pleas.
The star tells lifestyle website Essence.com, "She's been ignoring me for years. She's the only person that I have dreamed of working with that will not return my phone calls."
He got the chance to meet his idol once before and the filmmaker pounced on the opportunity to coax Ross into considering the project - only to be completely shut out.
Perry says, "That was it, she never called me again. She said, 'No!' And that was it."