Tyler Perry faces $260m lawsuit for sexual harassment, assault

Tyler Perry has been sued by Derek Dixon, Hollywood actor, for $260 million for alleged sexual assault, harassment, and retaliation.

The complaint, which was filed on June 13, showed Dixon accusing Perry of creating “a coercive, sexually exploitative dynamic” while filming ‘The Oval’ and ‘Ruthless’. Dixon starred in Perry’s shows as the character Dale.

According to reports, the complaint accused the filmmaker of “initially promising him [Dixon] career advancement and creative opportunities, such as producing his pilot and casting him in his show, only to subject him to escalating sexual harassment, assault and battery, and professional retaliation when Dixon did not reciprocate Perry’s unwanted advances.”

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Matthew Boyd, an attorney for Tyler Perry and TPS Production Services, LLC, shared a statement with Fox News Digital.

“This is an individual who got close to Tyler Perry for what now appears to be nothing more than setting up a scam. But Tyler will not be shaken down, and we are confident these fabricated claims of harassment will fail,” the statement read.

Dixon said that he met Perry in September 2019 while working at the opening party of Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta. By November 2019, Perry offered Dixon a role in ‘Ruthless’ that would “change his life,” according to the complaint.

After filming a few small scenes in Perry’s show, Dixon was asked to work at another party for the filmmaker in December 2019. At that point, Dixon accuses Perry of calling him and texting him often, demanding he give Perry “some attention.”

Dixon claims he was sexually assaulted by Perry in January 2020 and was offered a role as a series regular in ‘The Oval’ the following month. After reading the script for the first season, Dixon learned that his character’s fate was left up in the air by the season finale.

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“Mr. Perry made it clear to Dixon that if Dixon ignored Perry or failed to engage with the sexual innuendos, Dixon’s character would ‘die’ in the next season. Indeed, Dixon’s character ‘Dale’ was shot four times in the chest at the end of his first season on ‘The Oval,’ and Perry always held this over Mr. Dixon’s head, implying that ‘Dale’ would survive if Dixon kept Perry ‘happy,’” the complaint stated.

After filming the scene, Dixon stated that he went to Perry’s trailer and was groped by the star. He claimed a similar incident happened during a cast trip to the Bahamas in October 2020.

This comes off the back of Perry being sued alongside Netflix over an alleged trademark infringement in relation to the series titled ‘She The People’.