US producer Tyler Perry accused of sexual assault in lawsuit
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Tyler Perry has built a media empire with an array of popular television shows and movies depicting black life in the US.
PHOTO: AFP
Jonathan Wolfe
LOS ANGELES – American film-maker, actor and media mogul Tyler Perry is being sued for US$260 million (S$334 million) for sexual assault by an actor who starred in The Oval (2019 to present), one of Perry’s television series.
Derek Dixon, who played the character Dale on the show, claims in a lawsuit that Perry, 55, subjected him “to escalating sexual harassment, assault and battery, and professional retaliation when Mr Dixon did not reciprocate Mr Perry’s unwanted advances”.
Lawyers for Perry and Dixon did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Mr Matthew Boyd, a lawyer for Perry, said in a statement to trade publication The Hollywood Reporter that the lawsuit was a scam.
“Tyler will not be shaken down, and we are confident these fabricated claims of harassment will fail,” Mr Boyd added.
According to the lawsuit, which was filed in a Los Angeles court on June 13, Dixon met Perry in 2019, when Dixon worked for an event company which had organised a party for the film-maker. The two exchanged numbers, and Perry initially offered him career advancement, Dixon said.
Soon afterwards, Perry began sending Dixon sexually suggestive text messages, according to the lawsuit, which included images of messages sent between the men.
In one episode mentioned in the lawsuit, in 2020, Perry invited Dixon to his home in Douglasville, Georgia, near Atlanta, where the two had drinks and Dixon spent the night in a guest room.
During the night, Perry got into bed with Dixon and began “rubbing Dixon’s body around his inner thigh in a highly sexual and suggestive manner”, according to the lawsuit. Dixon jumped out of bed and told Perry that he “wasn’t that sexual”, according to the lawsuit.
Dixon then ignored Perry’s texts, until Perry offered him a role in The Oval, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit also describes an incident in 2021, when Dixon spent the night at Perry’s house.
It claims that when Perry asked for a goodnight hug, he pulled down Dixon’s underwear and touched his buttocks “in a sexual manner”.
Perry has built a media empire with popular television shows and movies depicting black life in the United States, including the Madea film series (2005 to present), in which he also stars.
In 2019, he opened a 133ha studio complex in Atlanta, where major studios often film movies and television shows, including Pitch Perfect 3 (2017), Black Panther (2018) and The Walking Dead (2010 to 2022). NYTIMES
