Entertainment mogul Tyler Perry has been named in a $260 million lawsuit filed Friday in Los Angeles, claiming he sexually harassed an actor.
Actor Derek Dixon said that the 55-year-old entertainment mogul tried to establish an uncomfortable sexual dynamic between them when he appeared on two of Perry’s programs: Ruthless and The Oval, according to legal documents reviewed by People.
Perry lawyer Matthew Boyd said Tyler ‘will not be shaken down and we are confident these fabricated claims of harassment will fail.’
Boyd said of Dixon: ‘This is an individual who got close to Tyler Perry for what now appears to be nothing more than setting up a scam.’
Daily Mail has reached out to reps for Perry for further comment on the story.
Entertainment mogul Tyler Perry, 55, has been named in a $260 million lawsuit claiming he sexually harassed an actor. Pictured June 9 in LA at the BET Awards
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Perry posed in LA at a December 4, 2024 event
A legal complaint filed against Perry by Dixon’s team states that Perry at first promised the actor ‘career advancement and creative opportunities.’
They included commitments such ‘as producing his pilot and casting him in his show,’ according to legal docs.
Perry subject Dixon ‘to escalating sexual harassment, assault and battery, and professional retaliation when [Dixon] did not reciprocate Mr. Perry’s unwanted advances.’
Dixon in legal docs said he first crossed paths with Perry in September of 2019 at his Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta.
Dixon said in the legal complaint that after he first met the mogul at a party for one of Perry’s shows, the New Orleans-born star began to send him text messages with sexually-suggestive themes.
Dixon said in the legal complaint that Perry looked to establish ‘a coercive, sexually exploitative dynamic’ between them when he worked on the set of The Oval and Ruthless, portraying a character by the name of Dale.
Actor Derek Dixon said that he initially crossed paths with the 55-year-old entertainment mogul in September of 2019
Dixon said in the legal complaint that Perry looked to establish ‘a coercive, sexually exploitative dynamic’ between them when he worked on the sets of Perry’s shows
Perry subject Dixon to ‘escalating sexual harassment, assault and battery, and professional retaliation when Mr. Dixon did not reciprocate Mr. Perry’s unwanted advances,’ the legal complaint stated.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.
