Tyler Perry has been accused in a civil lawsuit of repeatedly sexually assaulting and harassing an actor on “The Oval,” a TV drama that Perry created, according to a new lawsuit. The suit, filed Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court by the actor Derek Dixon, alleges Perry used his influence in the entertainment industry to prevent Dixon from speaking out until now.
Matthew Boyd, an attorney representing Perry, denied the allegations in a statement obtained by CBS News on Tuesday.
“This is an individual who got close to Tyler Perry for what now appears to be nothing more than setting up a scam,” the statement said. “But Tyler will not be shaken down and we are confident these fabricated claims of harassment will fail.”
Dixon appeared on 85 episodes of “The Oval,” which has had a six-season run on the network BET. The actor’s most recent appearances came during the latest season of the series earlier this year, according to IMDB. His lawsuit seeks at least $260 million in damages.
“Mr. Perry took his success and power and used his considerable influence in the entertainment industry to create a coercive, sexually exploitative dynamic with Mr. Dixon—initially promising him 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,” the lawsuit alleges.
It alleges the behavior happened during Dixon’s time as a series regular on “The Oval,” when Perry “held direct control over his employment, compensation, and creative opportunities.”
The lawsuit, first reported Tuesday by TMZ, says that Perry first noticed Dixon in 2019 when Dixon was part of the event staff at a Perry party, and later offered an audition.
Dixon would first appear in a small role on the Perry series “Ruthless” before getting the bigger role on the political drama “The Oval.”
Perry soon began sending unwanted sexual text messages to Dixon, according to the lawsuit, which includes alleged screenshots of several of them.
“What’s it going to take for you to have guiltless sex?” one of the messages says.
The lawsuit claims Perry offered Dixon an increasingly prominent role on the show as his sexual advances became more aggressive.
In the lawsuit, the actor says he tried to remain friendly while maintaining boundaries.
“Dixon did his best to tiptoe around Mr. Perry’s sexual aggression while keeping on Mr. Perry’s good side,” the lawsuit says. “Mr. Perry made it clear to Dixon that if Dixon ignored Perry or failed to engage with the sexual innuendoes, Dixon’s character would ‘die.'”
The lawsuit alleges Perry eventually sexually assaulted Dixon on “multiple occasions,” including an instance where he “forcibly pulled off Mr. Dixon’s clothing, groped his buttocks, and attempted to force himself on Dixon.”
Dixon clearly told Perry “No,” but was initially ignored until he was able to de-escalate the situation and change the subject, according to the lawsuit.
The following day, the suit claims, Perry apologized, and told Dixon he would work with Dixon on a TV pilot Dixon was seeking to produce.
Dixon says he later received a raise that the lawsuit suggests was part of an attempt to keep him quiet.
He said the fear of his character dying kept him quiet as intended.
Perry also produced and bought the rights to the pilot, called “Losing It,” but the lawsuit alleges Perry had no intention of selling the show and was using it only for leverage over Dixon.
The lawsuit describes several other alleged assaults. In one of those alleged instances, the suit claims Perry climbed into bed with Dixon, uninvited, and groped him while Dixon was staying in a guest room at Perry’s house.
It also alleges that Dixon eventually moved from Atlanta, home to Perry’s production studio, to Los Angeles to put distance between the two of them, but “Mr. Perry continued to sexually harass Mr. Dixon.”
Dixon in 2024 filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, according to the lawsuit. The suit alleges that Dixon quit the show when its producer’s did not take action to investigate his accusations, even after he had filed that complaint with the EEOC.
CBS News and The Associated Press do not typically name people who say they have been sexually abused unless they come forward publicly as Dixon has.
“The Oval” is one of many television series executive produced by, written by and directed by the 55-year-old Perry, who first became known as creator and star of the “Madea” films and has since built a major production empire in TV and movies. As an actor he has also appeared in the films “Gone Girl” and “Don’t Look Up.”