Tyler Perry has been sued by The Oval actor Derek Dixon, who alleges that he was subjected to sexually charged texts and treatment that amounts to sexual harassment, groping, and quid pro quo.
The Madea star is currently enjoying a mid-career high. He even started the month off with Straw, which ended up as the number one movie on Netflix — things were only looking up. But beyond praise from his frequent collaborators like Taraji P. Henson, nobody outside of his inner circle truly knows how he runs his huge eponymous studio in Atlanta.
Derek Dixon’s allegations paint a very elaborate picture of what allegedly happened between him and Perry. TMZ was able to obtain the filing, which reveals that Dixon alleges he met Tyler Perry in 2019 at a party. They then exchanged contacts, and Dixon was invited to another party in January 2020. There, Dixon claims he got too intoxicated and had to sleep in a guest room. That’s when Perry’s first advances allegedly started. He alleges that Perry tried to get into bed with him, but he rejected those advances.
Perry went on to hire him for The Oval and its spin-off Ruthless — both Tyler Perry productions that aired on BET+. It’s at that point, Dixon claims, that Perry continued his advances and began sending him flirty messages, pressing him on his sexual preferences and even suggesting that Perry himself was sexually interested in men. The screenshots have now gone viral on social media, and they certainly have people discussing whether such texts are appropriate for a work setting.
Dixon also claims that his role as Dale in the shows was heavily influenced by the role Perry allegedly wanted him to play in his real life. Dale was a gay, homeless, desperate clerk who slept with other characters for a place to stay — a character Perry allegedly told him reflected what he was looking for in a partner: someone loyal and dependent on him.
The Oval star goes on to claim that Perry would regularly speak to him using sexually explicit conversation topics that made him uncomfortable, such as asking if he liked rough sex and claiming that talking about sex excited him. As for the alleged sexual assault, Dixon claims that in 2021, while staying in Perry’s guest house and wearing only underwear, the mogul walked in, groped him, and said, “Relax and just let it happen.”
Tyler Perry’s representatives have responded by simply calling the allegations a “scam.” Derek Dixon formally filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in June 2024 and quit the show, citing that he could no longer put up with the sexual harassment. He is now suing for sexual harassment, sexual abuse, and quid pro quo, seeking $260 million in damages. There’s little to go on now beyond the allegations — but if the situation with Justin Baldoni is anything to go by, that won’t be the case for long.
Tyler Perry’s legal counsel has declared that their client will not be shaken down.
