Tyler Perry is being sued by one of the actors of his long-running TV show, The Oval. Derek Dixon is suing Perry for $260 million over alleged sexual harassment, assault and retaliation, People.com reported.
The complaint cited by People and filed Friday, June 13, in Los Angeles, claims Perry created “a coercive, sexually exploitative dynamic” while Dixon was starring on Perry’s shows The Oval and Ruthless.
The complaint accused Perry of “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.”
In a response to the allegations, Matthew Boyd, an attorney for Perry, said in a statement to People, “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.”
Dixon claimed he met Perry at an event in September 2019, and Perry asked for his number. He alleged that Perry started texting him soon after, often with suggestive advances while stating that he wanted to help Dixon get a job.
Dixon ended up getting a small role on Ruthless in November 2019, thanks to Perry. In January 2020, Dixon claimed that he was assaulted by Perry at the filmmaker’s home and by February, he had a series regular role on The Oval.
According to the complaint, “Mr. Perry made it clear to Dixon that if Dixon ignored Perry or failed to engage with the sexual innuendos, Dixon’s character would ‘die’ in the next season.
“Indeed, Dixon’s character ‘Dale’ was shot four times in the chest at the end of his first season on ‘The Oval,’ and Perry always held this over Mr. Dixon’s head, implying that ‘Dale’ would survive if Dixon kept Perry ‘happy.'”
Dixon claimed that after the shooting incident in The Oval, Perry asked him to visit his trailer, where Perry allegedly pinned him to the wall of his trailer and started “aggressively groping Dixon’s buttocks in a sexual motion.”
In October 2020, Dixon claimed he was groped again during a cast trip to the Bahamas. In June the following year, Dixon claimed Perry sexually assaulted him after Perry invited him to his house again to talk about Dixon’s pilot for his show Losing It, which Perry had wanted to produce.
The actor said that over the next five months, he “suffered from severe depression, anxiety, stomach pains, and nausea” and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Dixon, however, went on to star on The Oval but left during the show’s final season. He is now suing Perry for quid pro quo sexual harassment, sexual battery, sexual assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress, retaliation and more, People reported.
Dixon also wants a jury trial and damages of $260 million.
