CONTENT WARNING: This article discusses alleged sexual assault.
Tyler Perry is facing a second sexual assault lawsuit this year — this time from Mario Rodriguez, a model-turned-actor who appeared briefly in Perry’s 2016 film Boo! A Madea Halloween.
According to a complaint filed in Los Angeles this week and obtained by PEOPLE, Rodriguez accuses the 56-year-old filmmaker of multiple instances of sexual assault and harassment between 2015 and 2019. He’s seeking USD $77 million (around AUD $114 million) in damages.
Rodriguez, who played “Frat Guy #10” in the Madea film, claims he was first introduced to Perry through a trainer at a Los Angeles gym. The lawsuit alleges that over the years, Perry would invite Rodriguez to private meetings about future projects, which then allegedly became sexually inappropriate.
In one alleged 2018 incident, Rodriguez says Perry “grabbed [his] penis” and ignored repeated pleas to stop, per PEOPLE. The complaint claims Perry later apologised and gave Rodriguez USD $5,000 (around AUD $7,500) before sending him away. Another alleged encounter in 2019 reportedly involved Perry placing Rodriguez’s hand on his own genitals while they were watching a football game.
The complaint also names Lionsgate — the studio behind Boo! A Madea Halloween — as a defendant.
Perry’s legal team has strongly denied the accusations. In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, his attorney Alex Spiro said, “Having recently failed in another matter against Mr. Perry, the very same lawyer has now made yet another demand from more than a decade ago which will also be a failed money grab.”
Rodriguez’s lawyer rejected that claim, telling PEOPLE that previous allegations from another client “are alive and well” — referencing The Oval actor Derek Dixon, who filed a separate USD $260 million (AUD $387 million) lawsuit against Perry in June. That case, which includes claims of sexual assault, harassment, and retaliation, has since been moved from California to a Georgia court.
Rodriguez publicly addressed his experience earlier this month in a video posted to Instagram, where he spoke about feeling “scared and ashamed”, though he did not name Perry directly. “I stayed quiet for much too long,” he said in the clip. “If I would’ve spoken up sooner, I could’ve saved somebody that this probably happened to after me.”
Both lawsuits are ongoing. Tyler Perry has not been charged with any crime and continues to deny all allegations.
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