Tyler Perry Sued For Sexual Assault By ‘The Oval’ Actor, Director Denies Wrongdoing

Tyler Perry was named in a lawsuit by an actor who worked on the set of The Oval, who met the director in a chance meeting at an event. Derek Dixon claims that after establishing contact with Tyler Perry, he became the target of Perry’s unwanted affection.

TMZ and Deadline both delivered reports regarding Derek Dixon’s lawsuit and Tyler Perry’s response. It appears that, according to TMZ, which obtained court documents, Dixon and Perry crossed paths in 2019, with the actor catching the director’s eye while attending an event. Perry cast Dixon in a small role for the show Ruthless, and Dixon believed that this was the start of a fruitful partnership.

Dixon added in his filing that he visited Perry’s home in hopes of firming up the connection but said he had too much to drink and ended up in a bedroom. Dixon said he awoke to Perry getting into bed with him and touching his thighs, but he turned down the advance. Dixon said that Perry continued to pursue him after casting him in The Oval as Dale.

It was then that Dixon said Perry began firing off explicit and sexually assertive text messages, and those texts were presented in the court filing, although their legitimacy can not be validated. Further, Dixon claims that the character of Dale, who was a gay and unhoused man who slept with people to find lodging, was what Perry wanted in a partner, citing that Perry expected Dixon to be dependent on him.

As shared by Deadline, Dixon’s legal team shared their side’s view of Perry’s actions and why the lawsuit was launched.

“Using his influence, Mr. Perry provided vulnerable men with acting positions, roles, show contracts, cars, and money,” Dixon’s lawyer wrote in the June 13 filing. “Once the object of his desire was hooked, Tyler Perry would then put them in fear of losing it all unless they engaged in Mr. Perry’s perverted desire for sexual gratification. Mr. Perry would easily ‘kill off’ a character in a show of an actor who failed to indulge Perry’s sexual fantasies.”

Perry’s legal representative gave a response to Dixon’s lawsuit filing.

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

Derek Dixon is suing Tyler Perry for quid pro quo and workplace sexual harassment, sexual assault, and battery. He is seeking $260 million in damages.

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Photo: Paras Griffin / Getty