TYLER PERRY SUED FOR SEXUAL HARASSMENT

American actor and filmmaker Tyler Perry has been sued for $260 million by an actor who has accused the TV giant of sexually assaulting him while working on his TV shows. Derek Dixon has filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court accusing the actor of using his influence in the entertainment industry to create a coercive sexually exploitative dynamic while he was acting on The Oval and Ruthless. Dixon, who played the character Dale on The Oval, alleges Perry promised him a successful acting career but then subjected him to escalating sexual harassment, assault and battery, and professional retaliation when he did not reciprocate Perry’s unwanted advances. Perry’s lawyer Matthew Boyd, denied the allegations and call the lawsuit a scam to make money.

Dixon said he met Perry in 2019 at a work event for Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, and the pair talked over several months about an acting career. The lawsuit states Perry also made numerous sexual comments and remarks about wanting a sexual relationship, and made several advances on Dixon which he rejected. The lawsuit cites several incidences where Perry allegedly sexually assaulted Dixon. The actor accused Perry of interrogating him over his sexual interests in a trailer on the set of The Oval, before pinning him to a wall and fondling him. Dixon said he refused the advance and left the trailer. He added that to stop continued harassment, he decided to leave his role on The Oval and declined a job from Perry to work as a writer.

 Mr. Perry has built a media empire with an array of popular TV shows and movies depicting Black Life in America, including the Madea, a series he stars in. In 2019, he opened a 330-acre studio complex in Atlanta where major studios often film movies and TV shows, including Pitch Perfect 3, The Walking Dead, and Black Panther.