An actor who appeared in no less than 85 episodes of the Tyler Perry-created TV drama ‘The Oval’ has filed a lawsuit in opposition to him. Derek Dixon alleges Perry used his trade energy to repeatedly sexually assault and harass him whereas holding him quiet. Dixon filed the $260 million lawsuit within the Los Angeles Superior Court docket on Friday (June 13). Alleged previous texts between Dixon and Perry included within the lawsuit have since surfaced on-line.
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Lawsuit Says Tyler Perry Leveraged His Hollywood Energy
The bombshell allegations in opposition to Tyler Perry have been first reported on Tuesday by TMZ. Paperwork paint a office setting underneath Tyler that allegedly included sexual advances and misconduct.
“Mr. Perry took his success and energy and used his appreciable affect within the leisure trade to create a coercive, sexually exploitative dynamic with Mr. Dixon — initially promising him profession development and inventive alternatives, equivalent to producing his pilot and casting him in his present, solely to topic him to escalating sexual harassment, assault and battery, {and professional} retaliation,” the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit says that Tyler Perry first seen Dixon in 2019 when Dixon was a part of the occasion workers at a Perry celebration. The film mogul later supplied Dixon an audition. Dixon’s audition led him to a minor position on the Perry sequence ‘Ruthless’ earlier than getting the larger position on the political drama ‘The Oval.’
The lawsuit says Perry supplied Dixon an more and more outstanding position on the present as his sexual advances grew to become extra aggressive. The actor says he tried to stay pleasant whereas sustaining boundaries.
“Dixon did his greatest to tiptoe round Mr. Perry’s sexual aggression whereas holding on Mr. Perry’s good aspect,” the lawsuit says. “Mr. Perry made it clear to Dixon that if Dixon ignored Perry or failed to have interaction with the sexual innuendoes, Dixon’s character would ‘die.’”
Derek Dixon Alleges Tyler Assaulted Him On A number of Events
Moreover, the $260M lawsuit says Tyler Perry ultimately sexually assaulted Derek Dixon on “a number of events,” together with an occasion the place he “forcibly pulled off Mr. Dixon’s clothes, groped his buttocks, and tried to drive himself on Dixon.” Dixon allegedly instructed Perry “No,” however was initially ignored till he was in a position to de-escalate the state of affairs and alter the topic, per the go well with.
The next day, Perry apologized and instructed Dixon he would work with Dixon on a TV pilot Dixon was looking for to supply. Dixon later obtained a elevate that the lawsuit suggests was a part of Perry’s try and hold him quiet. He mentioned the worry of his character dying on the TV sequence saved him quiet as supposed. Perry additionally produced and purchased the rights to the pilot, referred to as ‘Shedding It.’ Nonetheless, the lawsuit alleges Perry had no intention of promoting the present and was utilizing it just for leverage over Dixon.
The lawsuit alleges a number of different assaults, together with one the place Dixon was staying in a visitor room of Perry’s home when Perry climbed into mattress with him uninvited and commenced groping him.
Within the paperwork, Dixon mentioned he ultimately moved out of Atlanta—dwelling to Tyler Perry’s manufacturing studio. The actor settled in Los Angeles, allegedly to place distance between them. Dixon filed a criticism with the Equal Employment Alternative Fee in 2024, and when that didn’t end in any motion from the present’s producers, he stop.
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Screenshots Of Previous Texts Between Plaintiff & Defendant Launched
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Tyler Perry’s Lawyer Reacts To Lawsuit
