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Daily Mail
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Tyler Perry is sued for $260 million over actor's sexual harassment claims
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 in legal docs reviewed by Daily Mail that Perry, 55, aggressively tried to establish an sexual dynamic between them when he appeared on two of Perry's programs on BET: Ruthless and The Oval. Perry, who counts Oprah and Meghan Markle among his closest confidantes, 'will not be shaken down and we are confident these fabricated claims of harassment will fail,' his lawyer Matthew Boyd told Daily Mail in a statement Tuesday. 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.' Described by The Sunday Times as one of the 'most powerful people in the film and television industry - and one of the richest', Perry famously lent his $18m California home to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex after they quit the royal family in 2020. At the time neither Markle nor Perry had met each other, but the pair are now close friends as he is godfather to the couple's daughter Lilibet. Daily Mail has reached out to reps for Perry, BET and Dixon via his Instagram page, for further comment on the story. 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 subjected 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. In the legal complaint, Dixon said 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. Dixon said Perry offered to carve out a roll for him that would change his life, beginning in November of 2019 with a role in the series Ruthless. And in January of 2020, Dixon alleges he was sexually assaulted by Perry at the entertainment mogul's home, according to the legal complaint. In February 2020, Dixon told the court, Perry offered him a recurring role on The Oval. (He wound up playing the role of Dale over 85 episodes spread over five seasons from 2021–2025.) Dixon said Perry displayed his massive power by leaving his character Dale with an unknown fate to conclude The Oval's first season. 'Mr. Perry made it clear to Dixon that if Dixon ignored Perry or failed to engage with the sexual innuendos, Dixon's character would 'die' in the next season,' the actor's legal complaint read. 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. Dixon said in his legal complaint that Perry's harassment also occurred in the wake of filming the scene in which his character Dale had been shot. In the legal complaint, the actor said that the entertainment magnate began to aggressively grope his buttocks 'in a sexual motion,' which also had happened during an October 2020 Bahamas trip with the case. Dixon said that a doctor's visit in late 2020 'indicated that [he] exhibited severe symptoms of acute stress, insomnia, stomach issues, and dangerously low cortisol levels due to the sexual harassment and assault.' He also said he was subsequently prescribed the antidepressant Zoloft in December of 2020. Dixon stated in the legal complaint that in June of 2021, he went to Perry's house to talk about a potential pilot for a show called Losing It. Perry had told him he was interested in producing the program prior to the meeting, Dixon said in legal documents. The actor said that during this meeting four years ago, Perry sexually assaulted him, leading to severe depression, anxiety, stomach pains, nausea and PTSD in the months that followed. Dixon said in the legal complaint, he told Perry in January of 2023 that he was relocating to California to establish 'some distance' between the two of them and that the move cost him nearly $400,000, as he was sidelined during the final season of The Oval as result of his relocation. Dixon accuses Perry of sexual harassment, battery and assault and more in the lawsuit, requesting a total of $260 million in damages. Perry was in a long-term relationship with Gelila Bekele after they began dating in 2009. Perry and his model ex welcomed their son Aman in 2014, two years after they first met at a Prince concert. Over their 13-year relationship, the pair rarely spoke of their dating life, in public, and have been vocal about also wanting to maintain their little boy's privacy. When asked about marriage in a 2013 appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Perry admitted he wasn't sure if he could ever see himself walk down the aisle. And in December 2020 he revealed he and Gelila had split and he was now a batchelor. 'This is what a midlife crisis looks like,' he wrote on Instagram in 2020. 'I'm 51, single and wondering what the next chapter in my life will look like.' 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
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Tyler Perry denies ‘scam' sexual assault allegations against him made by The Oval actor
Tyler Perry has vehemently denied the sexual assault allegations made against him by one of his former actors, calling the accusations a 'scam'. The 55-year-old actor and filmmaker is being sued for alleged sexual assault, battery, quid pro quo, and workplace sexual harassment by an actor who starred in his long-running political drama, The Oval. The actor, Derek Dixon, who appeared on both the six-season drama and its spinoff Ruthless as Dale, filed the lawsuit in the Los Angeles Superior Court on 13 June. In the filing, obtained by The Independent, Perry is accused of using his 'success and power' and his 'considerable influence in the entertainment industry to create a coercive, sexually exploitative dynamic' with Dixon while he was employed as a series regular on The Oval. In response to the complaint, Matthew Boyd, an attorney for Perry and TPS Production Services, LLC, said, "This is an individual who got close to Tyler Perry for what now appears to be nothing more than setting up a scam. But Tyler will not be shaken down and we are confident these fabricated claims of harassment will fail." The lawsuit claims that Perry initially promised Dixon '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'. Dixon alleges that in 2020 Perry climbed into bed with him after a night of drinking and that Perry aggressively groped his buttocks while the pair were in Perry's trailer on the set of The Oval. Dixon allegedly met Perry in September 2019 while he was working for the event company that organised the opening party for the media mogul's Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It's further claimed that from then on, Perry sometimes texted Dixon sexual advances and other times he messaged him about helping him find a job. After Perry offered Dixon a role in The Oval, the actor quit his job at the events company and Perry's alleged advances became more frequent. Dixon claims he was worried he would lose his job if he refused Perry's advances outright, so he continued to maintain that he was simply not interested in sex. At the end of one season, Perry wrote into The Oval that Dixon's character had been shot multiple times, but left it unclear as to whether the character had died. Dixon says he interpreted this as Perry putting pressure on him to maintain their relationship or otherwise be written out of the show. Dixon also alleges that Perry intimated he was interested in producing a show he had written, called Losing It, as a way of making him more dependent on the producer. Dixon says that he then called Perry's lawyers to check if the pilot was moving ahead, only to be told that it wasn't. He also claims that he was assaulted by Perry during a 2020 trip to the Bahamas and in 2021, while staying in Perry's guest house, he was again sexually assaulted and, fearing that he would be raped, slept inside a locked bathroom. A few days after the incident, Perry allegedly called Dixon and blamed his actions on testosterone supplements. He again promised to make Dixon's show and bought the rights but never took action to produce it. According to Dixon, after he complained about the alleged misconduct, 'defendants did not make any investigation into the complaint and did not take any steps to prevent further harassment from occurring.' As a result, Dixon 'had to quit his job working on the last season of The Oval,' a decision that cost him around $400,000 in lost wages. 'Dixon did not want to be sexually harassed or be placed in danger of a sexual assault again,' the filing states as his reason for leaving the show and giving up the money. Dixon claims that as a result of Perry's actions, he suffered from severe depression, anxiety, stomach pains, and nausea and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). He is suing for $260 million in total damages as well as legal expenses.
News.com.au
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Tyler Perry accused of sexual harassment in $260 million lawsuit
In a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles last week, actor Derek Dixon accused the media mogul of creating a "coercive, sexually exploitative dynamic" when he was appearing on episodes of the TV shows The Oval and Ruthless. Dixon played a character named Dale on the soap operas. According to the complaint, obtained by People on Tuesday, Perry promised Dixon "career advancement and creative opportunities" but allegedly subjected him to "sexual harassment, assault and battery, and professional retaliation". Dixon also alleged that Perry sexually assaulted him in January 2020, and the following month, offered the actor a recurring role on The Oval.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Here's What's Going On With The Tyler Perry Sexual Assault Allegations
Warning: Discussion of sexual harassment and assault. Tyler Perry has been sued by an actor on The Oval, alleging sexual harassment and assault. Related: From Florence Pugh To Zoë Kravitz, Here's All The Celebrities Who Rocked Sheer Or Naked Dresses Derek Dixon, who played Dale in 85 episodes of the drama created, written, and directed by Perry, is seeking $260 million in damages. According to the lawsuit, they first met in 2020 when Dixon was working at one of Perry's parties. Dixon would go on to play a small role in the Perry-helmed Ruthless before his role in The Oval. Screenshots of text messages Perry purportedly sent Dixon are in the complaint, reportedly unwanted and sexual in nature. Dixon alleges that the behavior then escalated to "multiple occasions" of sexual assault. Related: Here Are 10 Celebs Who've Publicly Admitted The Reasons Why They Regret Ending Their Marriages As per AP News, the lawsuit reads, "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." 'Dixon did his best to tiptoe around Mr. Perry's sexual aggression while keeping on Mr. Perry's good side,' the lawsuit reads. 'Mr. Perry made it clear to Dixon that if Dixon ignored Perry or failed to engage with the sexual innuendoes, Dixon's character would 'die' in the next season." Dixon further reportedly filed an EEOC complaint in 2024, after which he left the show. Perry's attorney, Matthew Boyd, denied the allegations. "This is an individual who got close to Tyler Perry for what now appears to be nothing more than setting up a scam,' he said in a statement. 'But Tyler will not be shaken down, and we are confident these fabricated claims of harassment will fail.' A representative for Tyler Perry declined to comment further on the allegations. If you or someone you know has experienced sexual assault, you can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 (HOPE), which routes the caller to their nearest sexual assault service provider. You can also search for your local center here. Also in Celebrity: If You Get 20/30 On This Difficult '90s Music Quiz, Then You Honestly Know Your Stuff!!! Also in Celebrity: 17 Actors Who Said "No" To Nudity And Sex Scenes Out Of Respect For Their Partners, Families, Religion, And More Also in Celebrity: 22 Absolutely Bonkers Things I've Learned About Old Hollywood Celebs That Made My Jaw Hit The Floor
News18
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- News18
Actor Derek Dixon Accuses Tyler Perry Of Repeated Sexual Assault & Files $260M Lawsuit
Actor Derek Dixon, known for his role in Tyler Perry's TV drama The Oval, has filed a $260 million lawsuit accusing Perry of repeated sexual harassment, assault, and professional retaliation. The explosive legal case alleges abuse of power and coercion behind the scenes. Watch this video to know more. news | entertainment news live | latest bollywood news | bollywood | news18 | n18oc_moviesLiked the video? Please press the thumbs up icon and leave a comment. Subscribe to Showsha YouTube channel and never miss a video: Showsha on Instagram: Showsha on Facebook: Showsha on X: Showsha on Snapchat: entertainment and lifestyle news and updates on:
