Actor Derek Dixon Accuses Tyler Perry of Sexual Assault and Harassment — Texts Were Involved

When it comes to struggling, media mogul Tyler Perry has seen his fair share of trauma. In 2010, the Madea creator and star spoke with Oprah Winfrey about his childhood, which included "violent beatings, shouting, and name-calling." When Winfrey showed a photo of a young Perry, he teared up. Perry explained that when things were rough, he would picture a park that his mother and aunt used to take him to. "I could go to this park in my mind until it was over," he said.

Many years and countless successful projects later, the tables have turned for Perry. The filmmaker is being accused of sexual harassment and assault by an actor who starred in one of his television series. In the lawsuit, Derek Dixon, who was on The Oval, goes into detail about extremely inappropriate texts he allegedly received from Perry. Here's what we know.

According to TMZ, the lawsuit includes years of texts allegedly sent from Perry to Dixon. Perry first met Dixon in 2019 when the latter was working for an event company employed by the filmmaker. Dixon claims he was quite literally "plucked" from obscurity by Perry, who offered him a small role on his show Ruthless.

In January 2020, Perry allegedly invited Dixon to his home in Douglasville, Ga., near Atlanta, which resulted in the young actor drinking a bit too much. He spent the night in Perry's guest room but was allegedly woken up by the filmmaker crawling into bed with him, per The New York Times. In the lawsuit, Dixon claimed that Perry began "rubbing Dixon’s body around his inner thigh in a highly sexual and suggestive manner." Dixon leapt out of bed and told Perry he "wasn't that sexual."

Following those unwanted advances, Perry cast Dixon on The Oval. That's when the texts allegedly started, with Perry asking Dixon what his sexual preferences are, then revealing that he has sex with men. Most of the texts were sexual in nature. In one, Perry allegedly told Dixon, "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."

There were other times beyond the incident in Perry's guest room where he allegedly sexually assaulted Dixon. In 2020, Perry invited Dixon to his house again, but immediately made the actor uncomfortable when he allegedly started talking about sex. Perry supposedly asked Dixon if he "likes it rough in bed," then grabbed the actor by the throat while saying, "Look how excited you just got."

Things got even more aggressive in June 2021 when Dixon was staying in Perry's guest room again. Perry allegedly went into Dixon's room to say good night. The actor was wearing boxer shorts, which Perry pulled down. He allegedly grabbed Dixon's buttocks and told him, "Relax and just let it happen." Dixon was able to diffuse the situation by changing the subject.

Three years later in June 2024, Dixon filed a complaint with Equal Employment and Opportunity Commission and quit working on The Oval after that didn't go anywhere. A lawyer for Perry has denied the allegations, saying this was all a scam. "Tyler will not be shaken down, and we are confident these fabricated claims of harassment will fail," said Matthew Boyd about the $260 million lawsuit.