Tyler Perry is denying the claims in an explosive $260 million sexual harassment lawsuit filed by Derek Dixon, an actor who played “Dale” on the BET series, The Oval.
Dixon filed the 46-page lawsuit on Friday, June 13, in Los Angeles County Superior Court and alleged quid pro quo sexual harassment, sexual battery, sexual assault, workplace harassment and other claims.
In the complaint, he accused Perry of a pattern of “using his power and influence to molest, abuse, and sexually assault impressionable and vulnerable employees and actors who look to him for guidance and mentorship while pursuing their dreams.”
In a statement to TMZ, Perry’s attorney Matthew Boyd said the actor is looking for a payday.
“This is an individual who got close to Tyler Perry for what now appears to be nothing more than setting up a scam,” Boyd said in a statement on Tuesday, June 17. “But Tyler will not be shaken down, and we are confident these fabricated claims of harassment will fail.”
Related: Actor Christian Keyes Says He Was Sexually Harassed by ‘Billionaire’ Hollywood Mogul
Dixon met Perry in 2019 while the then-aspiring actor was working for an event company that was hired to plan the opening party in Atlanta for Tyler Perry Studios, according to the lawsuit.
The suit said the owner of the company was a “close friend” of Perry and placed Dixon in a role at the gala that required frequent conversation with Perry. The lawsuit said Dixon and Perry exchanged phone numbers at the end of the event and Perry began asking the actor about his goals.
Shortly after the event, the lawsuit said Perry sent Dixon several text messages on Nov. 3, 2019, saying he would “love” to find him a job and “change his life.”
The lawsuit stated that Perry cast Dixon in his show, Ruthless and began sending Dixon “strange and untowardly” messages.
“On New Years Eve, 2019, Tyler Perry texted Dixon “I can’t tell you the last time I pumped gas. Or went to the supermarket. Or flew commercial. Or packed a bag. Or had good sex. It was before I was rich,” the lawsuit stated.
In January 2020, the lawsuit alleged Perry invited Dixon to his home in Douglasville County, Georgia, where they drank alcoholic drinks.
“At the end of the night, Perry told Dixon not to drive home. Perry said it was dangerous and that Dixon was too ‘inebriated’ to drive home. Dixon agreed and was escorted to a separate guest room,” the complaint said.
The lawsuit said Dixon did not have pajamas and got into bed wearing his underwear.
“Dixon felt someone else slip into bed behind him and start rubbing Dixon’s body around his inner thigh in a highly sexual and suggestive manner. Dixon turned around and saw that Tyler Perry was in bed with him,” the lawsuit alleged.
Following the alleged assault, the lawsuit said Dixon tried to ignore Perry’s calls or texts, which became more aggressive “until finally Perry offered Dixon a part in a new show called The Oval,” the lawsuit said.
Dixon’s character was written as a gay, homeless, and desperate store clerk who slept with another character for a place to stay.
The complaint said Perry began to cross the line with his employee, and “started asking Dixon about Dixon’s sexual preferences, and what role Dixon took on when engaging in sexual acts (i.e. whether he was a top or bottom — which in sexual terms means whether Dixon preferred to give or receive anal sex).”
“Perry further indicated to Dixon that he had sex with men before and that ‘he was a top.’ Perry further told Dixon that ‘when you have a big dick and when you hit the G-spot right on these bottoms, they go crazy,” the lawsuit said.
The complaint included copies of text messages purportedly exchanged between Perry and Dixon. One text allegedly sent by Perry said: “I would hope that you would let someone hold you and make love to you. You are missing the best years of your life my friend. Trust me. I hope you get past that block in your life soon.”
According to the lawsuit, the text implied that “Dixon would hopefully get past the block in his mind and would let Tyler Perry make love to him.”
Things allegedly escalated between Dixon and Perry after they filmed an episode where Dixon’s character was shot four times, “indicating a seeming end to his role on the show and his termination from the job.”
The lawsuit claimed Dixon was led to believe his character would live, and he could keep his job if he kept Perry happy.
The lawsuit alleged Perry invited Dixon to his trailer for drinks and assaulted the actor when he was about to leave.
The complaint alleged Dixon was assaulted again on Perry’s private island in the Bahamas, where the cast traveled for a party. It went on to allege the sexual harassment continued through the beginning of 2021, and Dixon was prescribed an antidepressant for stress.
Dixon eventually left Atlanta and moved to Santa Monica to “create distance from Tyler Perry,” the lawsuit stated.
After June 2024, Dixon filed a harassment complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), before moving forward with a lawsuit.
The actor is seeking a jury trial, attorneys’ fees, and $260 million in damages.
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