What to Know About Tyler Perry’s $260 Million Lawsuit

Filmmaker and actor Tyler Perry was hit with a $260 million sexual-assault and harassment lawsuit on June 13. Perry — the man behind the popular franchise Madea, shows like Duplicity and Sistas, and a slew of Netflix originals — is being sued by actor Derek Dixon. The two first met when Dixon worked at the opening party for Tyler Perry Studios. In his lawsuit, Dixon alleges that Perry encouraged him to try his hand at acting, offering him TV roles in Ruthless and later The Oval. Dixon accepted the jobs but is alleging that during his employment, Perry sexually harassed him, groped him, and then retaliated against him when he did not reciprocate Perry’s “unwanted advances,” according to the complaint. Perry, who is reportedly worth $1.4 billion, said through his attorney that he let someone get close to him but that he now considered the relationship was “nothing more than setting up a scam.”

What does the full lawsuit claim?

Dixon, who became a a series regular on Perry’s show The Oval, is suing for sexual and work harassment along with sexual battery and sexual assault as well as other claims and seeking $260 million in damages, according to his 46-page lawsuit filed in Los Angeles earlier this month. Dixon says Perry first took interest in him in September 2019 while he was working at Perry’s studio party. When Dixon said he wanted to be an actor, Perry encouraged him and later cast him in two shows on BET and BET+: The Oval and Ruthless, an Oval spinoff. In it, he played “a gay, homeless, and desperate store clerk who had to sleep with one of the other characters for a place to stay.”

Dixon alleges that once in his employ, Perry used his “considerable influence in the entertainment industry to create a coercive, sexually exploitative dynamic.” Dixon claims that what started as a promise of “career advancement and creative opportunities, such as producing his pilot and casting him in his show” became a place of “sexual harassment, assault and battery, and professional retaliation when Dixon did not reciprocate Mr. Perry’s unwanted advances.” Dixon is also suing Tyler Perry Studios Production Services.

What are some of the allegations made by Dixon?

Dixon alleges that on one occasion, he was urged to stay the night at Perry’s house after he had too much to drink. Without pajamas, Dixon said he went to sleep in his underwear. That night, he alleges that Perry snuck into his bed and started rubbing his body around Dixon’s inner thigh. Dixon says he immediately jumped out of bed, told Perry he “wasn’t sexual,” and alleges that Perry told him to turn around so he could see him naked in his underwear.

In another instance at Perry’s house, Dixon alleges Perry encouraged him to try a weight monitor in the guest bedroom, but he needed to undress for it to work. After Dixon was undressed, he alleges Perry pulled his underwear down and sexually groped his buttocks and told him to “relax” and to “just let it happen,” according to the complaint. Dixon claimed he diffused the situation by telling Perry he couldn’t do anything sexual because he was hungry. When Perry left to order food, Dixon claims he locked himself in the bathroom.

Dixon also alleges that Perry repeatedly talked to him about sex and asked him about his sexual preferences. He claims he worked with the constant fear of losing his job if he did not engage with and endure Perry’s sexual harassment, according to the complaint.

What did Perry say in text messages included in the lawsuit?

In one message, Perry allegedly stated, “What is going to take for you to have guiltless sex? Have y’all found that yet in therapy?” When Dixon told him that he wasn’t into sex, Perry allegedly texted him: “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 the block in your mind soon,” according to the complaint. Perry allegedly also texted, “I haven’t been touched in months,” Dixon states in his complaint.

What was Perry’s response to all these claims?

Through his attorney, Matthew Boyd, Perry released a statement saying that while Dixon and Perry were close, it now “appears to be nothing more than setting up a scam.” Boyd said Perry will “not be shaken down” and that they are “confident these fabricated claims of harassment will fail.”

Has Dixon said anything since the lawsuit was filed?

Dixon hasn’t posted anything on social media about the lawsuit or Perry’s reaction, but his lawyer, Jonathan J. Delshad, shared the following statement: “I can only assume that Perry’s attorney did not bother to read the text messages sent by Tyler Perry prior to making those comments. Knee-jerk comments made without looking at the evidence is a way to enable further sexual harassment.”