Tyler Perry Is Being Sued $260 million for sexual assault, sexual harassment and retaliation

Tyler Perry is the most recent superstar who coud discover himself within the courtroom sizzling seat to battle in opposition to sexual assault. Derek Dixon, one of many actors within the media mogul’s White Home drama “The Oval,” has accused Perry of sexual assault, sexual harassment, and retaliation in a $260 million lawsuit filed June 13 in Los Angeles Superior Court docket, in response to Deadline.

The 2 first met in 2019 when Dixon was working for an occasion firm. He met Perry at a celebration for his Atlanta studio, and the producer employed him for added events, in response to Selection.

After accepting a task from Perry, Dixon grew to become a common within the sixth season of “The Oval” and its spinoff “Ruthless.” He claims that Perry promised him profession development and inventive alternatives. As an alternative, the actor discovered himself a sufferer of undesirable sexual advances {and professional} retaliation when he didn’t reciprocate Perry’s consideration, in response to The Unbiased.

The swimsuit additionally alleges that in January 2020, earlier than he was solid for “The Oval,” Dixon was invited to Perry’s Atlanta residence and went in hopes of constructing an expert relationship with the producer. As an alternative, after the 2 drank an excessive amount of, Dixon ended up sleeping within the visitor room of Perry’s residence. Whereas in mattress, allegedly Perry bought in with him and began to the touch his thighs, and although Dixon rejected his advances, he claims that Perry sexually assaulted him once more on two totally different events, per TMZ.

Dixon left “The Oval” in the course of the present’s remaining season, which, he claims, price him $400,000, in response to PEOPLE. After leaving, he claims he was identified with post-traumatic stress dysfunction (PTSD), per PEOPLE.

TMZ has acquired screenshots of a few of the alleged textual content messages from Tyler Perry to Dixon. A few of the texts from Perry learn:

“I really feel so good. However I do not like being sexy. I really feel sorry for the primary person who flirts with me.”

“I’d hope that you’d let somebody maintain you and make like to you. You might be lacking the very best years of your life, my pal. Belief me. I hope you get previous that block in your thoughts.”

These screenshots have already blown up on X, previously Twitter, with some customers disturbed by their content material:

“The second most jarring a part of these Tyler Perry screenshots is how eerily comparable it sounded to his screenplay writing,” posted one person. To which one other person agreed within the replies, saying, “That is how I knew the Tyler Perry texts had been very prone to be 100% actual.”

“Having been a sufferer of an outdated, predatory, homosexual man, these Tyler Perry texts are very acquainted. He most positively did that s***,” wrote one other person.

“Tyler Perry is an aggressive texter. I’d’ve instantly blocked his a**,” wrote one other person.

Nevertheless, followers of Tyler Perry have come out in his defence and help:

“There’s nothing in these leaked texts from Tyler Perry. His identify is getting dragged via the mud and over what precisely? Smh,” posted one other.

“Studying these texts between that man [Derek Dixon] and Tyler Perry it made me unhappy. I feel Tyler wants some mates. He appears lonely, and he trusted Derek Dixon to be a pal, and he turned on him smh. None of those texts had been harassment smh determined for cash,” wrote one other.

“As an individual who has developed a relationship with an outdated boss, I am not going in opposition to Tyler Perry. Dixon was most likely X-rated over the cellphone and in individual, however as harmless as may be in them textual content messages,” wrote one other.

Like followers on X who consider Dixon is just out for cash, Matthew Boyd, an lawyer for the media mogul, stated in a assertion to PEOPLE that Dixon “…is a person who bought near Tyler Perry for what now seems to be nothing greater than organising a rip-off… we’re assured these fabricated claims of harassment will fail.”