Inside Actor Derek Dixon’s Sexual Assault Lawsuit Against Tyler Perry

For the last several years, the world of Hollywood has been embroiled in a reckoning of sorts as it relates to high-profile figures being exposed for their alleged sexual misconduct behind closed doors. It began in 2017 with the allegations against Harvey Weinstein, which spurred the #MeToo movement and landed him in prison. Now, entertainment mogul Tyler Perry is the latest to be accused. Actor Derek Dixon, who starred on his series, The Oval, has brought a lawsuit against Perry, alleging sexual harassment and assault.

From 2021 until 2025, Derek starred in 85 episodes of the BET series The Oval. However, he initially began working for Tyler one year prior in 2020 via a few episodes of his other television production, Ruthless.

On Friday, June 13, Derek filed a formal lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court, suing Tyler for $260 million due to allegations of sexual assault and sexual harassment, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Derek also alleged that Tyler used his career as leverage in making unwanted sexual advances, specifically that the media mogul threatened to kill his character off The Oval if their relationship didn’t turn physical. Derek’s character was officially killed off the show early in 2025.

“For years, Perry has been using his power and influence to molest, abuse, and sexually assault impressionable and vulnerable employees and actors who look to him for guidance and mentorship while pursuing their dreams,” the lawsuit said.

After initially recruiting Derek to star in Ruthless in 2020, the actor says that shortly after things with Tyler began to get inappropriate, such as the mogul frequently sending unwanted sexual text messages, which allegedly read, “What’s it going to take for you to have guiltless sex?” and, “I love how I feel right now but I don’t like being horny,” per screenshots Derek provided.

Derek alleges in the lawsuit that in January 2020, Tyler invited him to stay the night at his Atlanta mansion after telling Derek he was too intoxicated to drive home. “Before he knew what was happening, Dixon felt someone else slip into bed behind him and start rubbing Dixon’s body around his inner thigh in a highly sexual and suggestive manner,” Jonathan Delshad, Derek’s lawyer, wrote in the lawsuit. “Dixon turned around and saw that Tyler Perry was in bed with him.”

Following the alleged incidents in 2020, Derek said that he tolerated the continued harassment in an effort to ensure that his character on The Oval, a gay, homeless store clerk who provided sexual favors, wouldn’t be killed off. In 2021, at the end of filming, Derek alleges that after being invited to Tyler’s trailer for drinks, he was pinned against the wall and groped.

Six months later, in June 2021, Derek alleges, per the lawsuit, that Tyler “began to vigorously grab, grope, and play with Dixon’s buttocks in a sexual manner” after they discussed a TV series Derek pitched, which Tyler promised to put into production but never did.

Derek said he reported the sexual assault and harassment to the appropriate authorities, but Tyler allegedly told him he would be in breach of his contract if he revealed why he quit the series.

There were numerous messages that Tyler sent to Derek, many of which were allegedly highly sexual in nature, according to TMZ.

"No straight man would be going on walks with you or cooking dinner for you unless they wanted to f--k you. I would f--k you," one message from Tyler read, per screenshots. “I would hope that you would let someone hold you and make love to you. You are missing the best years of your life, my friend. Trust me. I hope you get past that block in your mind soon,” read another message.

In a different text thread, Tyler allegedly advised Derek not to tell anyone about their friendship. “Listen to me. If you let the cast know that you and I have a new friendship then you are opening yourself up to a lot of questions and foolishness,” the text read.

“You want them to KNOW that you are there because of your talent and not because we have a friendship or because Tony got me to give you a job. You earned your spot like everyone else. Don’t give people an opportunity to play you small or they will,” Tyler’s message continued.

In a statement, Matthew Boyd, Tyler’s lawyer, slammed the allegations as nothing more than a money grab and said he and his client intend to fight the allegations, per The Hollywood Reporter.

Matthew referred to Derek as an “individual who got close to Tyler Perry for what now appears to be nothing more than setting up a scam. Tyler will not be shaken down, and we are confident these fabricated claims of harassment will fail.”