Los Angeles, CA — Famend filmmaker, actor, and studio mogul Tyler Perry is going through explosive allegations and a $260 million lawsuit filed by Derek Dixon, an actor finest identified for his position as Dale on BET’s hit drama The Oval and its spin-off Ruthless.
In courtroom paperwork filed in Los Angeles Superior Courtroom final week and obtained by TMZ, Dixon accuses Perry of sexual harassment, sexual assault, office gender violence, retaliation, and intentional infliction of emotional misery.
Alleged Sample of Abuse
In line with the criticism, the 2 met in September 2019 at Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, the place Perry allegedly supplied Dixon an appearing alternative in Ruthless. Dixon claims that quickly afterward, Perry started making sexual advances towards him via textual content messages and personal conferences.
Dixon alleges that Perry coerced him into sexual encounters by dangling profession guarantees and threatening skilled retaliation if he refused. He claims that in January 2020, he was sexually assaulted at Perry’s Atlanta residence and once more later that 12 months within the Bahamas. Dixon additionally alleges that Perry groped him in a trailer after filming The Oval.
“He made it clear that if I didn’t comply, my profession would undergo,” Dixon says within the submitting.
Profession Retaliation
The lawsuit additional claims that Perry threatened to kill off Dixon’s character on The Oval if he didn’t cooperate with Perry’s calls for. Dixon’s character, Dale, was shot on the finish of season one and Dixon says he was finally written out of the present fully.
Dixon left the ultimate season of The Oval in early 2023, which he says price him over $400,000 in misplaced earnings. He additionally claims he has suffered from extreme PTSD, nervousness, despair, and different well being points, for which he has acquired ongoing medical remedy since 2020.
Damages and Authorized Motion
The actor is in search of $260 million in compensatory and punitive damages, plus legal professional’s charges and different reduction below California’s sexual abuse and office harassment legal guidelines. His authorized staff can also be pursuing a jury trial.
Perry’s Response
A spokesperson for Tyler Perry forcefully denied the allegations, calling the lawsuit an try at extortion. Perry’s legal professional, Matthew Boyd, issued a press release saying:
“It is a meritless shakedown. Mr. Perry will vigorously defend himself towards these false claims and appears ahead to clearing his title in courtroom.”
Neither BET nor its father or mother firm has commented publicly on the lawsuit.
Subsequent Steps
A courtroom listening to date has not but been set. If the case proceeds to trial, it might mark one of many largest sexual misconduct lawsuits in Hollywood in recent times, involving one of many trade’s most influential figures.
