Latest news with #TPSProductionServices
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.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Tyler Perry Sued for Alleged Sexual Assault, Battery by ‘The Oval' Actor
Tyler Perry has been sued for sexual harassment and assault by Derek Dixon, an actor on the Perry-directed series The Oval and Ruthless, on which Dixon played a character named Dale. According to the lawsuit filed on Friday in Los Angeles, which was obtained by Rolling Stone, Dixon accused Perry of 'using his power and influence to molest, abuse, and sexually assault impressionable and vulnerable employees and actors who look to him for guidance and mentorship while pursuing their dreams.' More from Rolling Stone Matthew Perry's Ketamine Death: Second Doctor Agrees to Plead Guilty 'Will Sean Combs Testify?' and Other Burning Questions We Still Have Judge Dismisses Sean Combs Juror Over Inconsistent Statements In a statement, Matthew Boyd, an attorney for Perry, called Dixon an 'individual who got close to Tyler Perry for what now appears to be nothing more than setting up a scam.' He added, 'But Tyler will not be shaken down and we are confident these fabricated claims of harassment will fail.' The actor is suing is Perry for $260 million over alleged sexual harassment, assault and retaliation, among other claims of misconduct in the workplace. The complaint alleged that Perry 'provided vulnerable men with acting positions, roles, show contracts, cars, and money,' and that once they were 'hooked,' the filmmaker would 'put them in fear of losing it all unless they engaged in Mr. Perry's perverted desire for sexual gratification.' '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 complaint claimed. 'Indeed, Dixon's character 'Dale' was shot four times in the chest at the end of his first season on 'The Oval,' and Perry always held this over Mr. Dixon's head, implying that 'Dale' would survive if Dixon kept Perry 'happy.'' Perry was accused on multiple occasions of sexually assaulting Dixon, including 'one instance where he forcibly pulled off Mr. Dixon's clothing, groped his buttocks, and attempted to force himself on Dixon.' After the actor allegedly reported the sexual harassment, 'Defendants did not make any investigation into the complaint and did not take any steps to prevent further harassment from occurring,' per the complaint. Production companies TPS Production Services and And Action LLC are listed as co-defendants. Dixon further claims that because the defendants 'took no action to prevent further assault or harassment,' he was forced to quit the last season of The Oval, resulting in him losing out on around $400,000. The Oval premiered in 2019 on BET and released its sixth season on Jan. 25. Its spin-off, Ruthless, debuted on BET+ in March 2020. Representatives for BET did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Best of Rolling Stone The 50 Best 'Saturday Night Live' Characters of All Time Denzel Washington's Movies Ranked, From Worst to Best 70 Greatest Comedies of the 21st Century
