Movie star Tyler Perry facing $260m lawsuit as fellow actor Derek Dixon accuses him of sexual assault

18 June 2025, 09:20 | Updated: 18 June 2025, 09:28

Movie star Tyler Perry has been sued by another actor over sexual assault and harassment allegations that go back several years.

Court documents claim Perry allegedly sent sexually suggestive texts Derek Dixon when the pair worked together on Perry's show The Oval.

Perry, 55, has been accused of sexual assault, sexual harassment and sexual battery among other allegations, the documents reportedly show.

The media mogul's team has denied all claims, calling them "a scam".

Court documents filed on Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court claim Dixon and Perry first met at an event back in 2019.

Dixon claims Perry picked him out of a crowd and asked for his phone number to land him an acting job.

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The Californian had not landing any major roles before this point.

The pair soon worked on show called Ruthless together following their initial conversation.

Dixon says Perry then invited him round to his Atlanta home.

When he was round, he got too drunk and asked to sleep in a spare room at Perry's home.

Dixon claims Perry followed him into the bed and started to touch his thighs, the court documents revealed.

He rejected the alleged advances but claims the director persisted.

They later worked together a few months later when Dixon played Dale in The Oval.

Perry allegedly began sending sexually suggestive texts to Dixon, according to the documents.

These allegedly involve him asking about his sexual preferences.

They were reportedly "strange and untowardly", Dixon claimed, but he said he didn't want to report them because he was new to the industry and feared he would lose his job.

But the sexually charged messages would last for years, Dixon claims.

Contact allegedly turned physical, with Perry accused of grabbing Dixon's throat.

In June 2021, Dixon was was allegedly groped when staying at Tyler's Atlanta home. He had reportedly been staying in the guest house wearing just his underwear when he alleges that Tyler came in to the room.

The pair hugged as they were saying goodnight when Perry allegedly pulled down Dixon's briefs, grabbed his backside and told him to "relax".

In June 2024, Dixon filed a complaint with Equal Employment and Opportunity Commission.

He is now seeking $260million in damages as he sues Tyler and Tyler Perry Studios over the allegations.

Matthew Boyd, Perry's attorney, said in a statement: 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."