Tyler Perry Accused of Sex Assault in $260M Lawsuit

Tyler Perry was hit this week with a $260 million sexual harassment and assault lawsuit from “The Oval” actor and screenwriter Derek Dixon.

The lawsuit, filed on Friday in Los Angeles, alleges the entertainment mogul promised Dixon career advancement during the time of his “sustained” advances and used his position of power to retaliate when they weren’t reciprocated.

“Mr. Perry took his success and power and used his considerable influence in the entertainment industry to create a coercive, sexually exploitative dynamic with Mr. Dixon — initially promising him 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 Mr. Dixon did not reciprocate Mr. Perry’s unwanted advances,” the lawsuit reads. “These events occurred while Mr. Dixon was employed as a series regular on the Tyler Perry show ‘The Oval,’ and while Mr. Perry held direct control over his employment, compensation and creative opportunities.”

Matthew Boyd, attorney for Perry and his TPS Production Services, said in a statement to TheWrap that Perry will not be “shaken down” over fabricated claims.

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

In the 46-page lawsuit, Dixon claims he met Perry at the opening night party for the Atlanta-based Tyler Perry Studios in September 2019 and remained in contact with the creator afterward, being subject to Perry sending suggestive texts while assuring him work was on the way. Perry soon cast the actor as a minor role in “Ruthless.” Dixon claims he was first assaulted several months later in January 2020 while visiting Perry in his home and after a night of drinking. He was then cast as a series regular (a character named Dale) in “The Oval” on BET. The actor claims that Perry often threatened to kill his character off from the series if he “ignored Perry or failed to engage with the sexual innuendos.”

The suit includes screenshots of text conversations between Dixon and Perry that showed the producer allegedly pushing the merits of “guiltless sex,” expressing jealousy over one of the actor’s male friends and, in an instance where Perry had apparently been drinking, expressing that of the 600 people in his phonebook, he only wanted to talk to Dixon.

Instances of groping and sexual advances continued, Dixon claims, as he and Perry continued working together on “The Oval” and began early discussions of producing his own series he had created, called “Losing It.” One such instance saw Dixon staying in Perry’s guest house in June 2021; upon going to bed, he says, Perry asked him for a hug, pulled down his underwear and proceeded to “vigorously grab, grope and play” with him while Dixon told him he “didn’t want this” and “didn’t want to be naked.”

The actor claims he suffered from severe depression, anxiety, stomach pains and nausea, which led to the use of antidepressants and a diagnosis of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. He also claims that after the guest house assault, Perry acknowledged that “that shouldn’t have happened” and blamed their drinking. He later promised to produce “Losing It” and raised Dixon’s pay per episode on “The Oval” ahead of his return to that production in November 2021.

“Dixon immediately knew why he was getting this raise and why the Pilot was being produced,” the lawsuits reads. “He knew he could keep the money and the job or complain about the sexual harassment, but not both … In what was an extremely difficult decision, Dixon bowed to the pressure and fear of losing his livelihood, and in hopes of advancing his career, Dixon decided to return to the set and have his Pilot produced.”

Upon selling the rights to the “Losing It” pilot to Perry’s production company, however, he says the project was intentionally stalled after filming the pilot and the producer had no intentions of making it or selling it for distribution. Their professional relationship fluctuated in the intervening years as Dixon continued to work on “The Oval” and Perry continued to “string Dixon along” on promises of “Losing It,” the lawsuit states. The actor and screenwriter then moved to Los Angeles in January 2023, but says the “the quid pro quo harassment and attempts to cover up the sexual assault by promising a show continued.”

In June 2024, Dixon reported Perry’s alleged sexual harassment to co-defendants TPS Production Services, which the lawsuit says “did not make any investigation into the complaint and did not take any steps to prevent further harassment from occurring.” Dixon says he then planned to quit “The Oval” ahead of its new season, but was persuaded by Perry to take a medical leave of absence, citing emotional distress; he then says Perry terminated his contract in retaliation.

In all, the lawsuit includes claims of sexual harassment; work environment harassment; sexual battery; sexual assault; negligent hiring, supervision or retention of an employee; intentional infliction of emotional distress; and retaliation.

Dixon seeks a jury trial and a total amount of damage, including punitive damages of $260 million. He is represented by attorney Jonathan J. Delshad.