Media magnate Tyler Perry denies allegations in a $260 million lawsuit filed by an actor who worked on 2 of his television dramas. Derek Dixon, who played gay twink Dale in “The Oval” and “Ruthless,” filed the lawsuit in California on June 13.
Dixon accused Perry of using his massive influence as leverage to force him to submit to numerous sexual advances. Perry has been accused of sexual misconduct in the past, but Dixon has receipts in the form of sexually suggestive text messages.
TMZ first reported the lawsuit on June 17. The 46-page lawsuit details numerous incidents of sexual harassment and workplace gender violence.
Dixon says the harassment began in September 2019 when he met Perry while working at his studio launch event in Atlanta. Dixon worked for a company called Legendary Events, owned by Tony Conway, a close friend of Perry’s.
Conway allegedly assigned Dixon to work closely with Perry at the event. Dixon said Perry asked him to exchange phone numbers that night.
Later, Perry called Dixon and formally introduced himself. He allegedly promised to help Dixon’s career by hiring him for acting roles.
Perry’s attorney, Matthew Boyd, described the lawsuit as “fabricated lies.”
A pattern of harassment and sexually suggestive messages soon followed. Dixon claims the constant harassment made him fear losing his roles in Perry’s shows.
In January 2020, Perry allegedly invited Dixon to his home inside the Tyler Perry Studios compound, where the first physical assault allegedly took place.
In March 2020, when the COVID lockdowns began, Perry instructed Dixon to move into housing at his massive Atlanta studios. There, the assaults and harassment allegedly escalated.
Perry allegedly told Dixon to quit his job at Legendary Events and work for him full-time. Shortly after Dixon began working for him, Perry bought Dixon a new car because he didn’t like the Jeep Dixon was driving.
Perry, 55, allegedly took photos of Dixon’s buttocks on the set and texted the images to him, along with critiques about the actor’s weight.
When Dixon stopped replying to Perry’s constant stream of text messages, Perry allegedly hinted that Dixon’s role as gay twink Dale on “The Oval” would be killed off in the season’s final episode.
Concerned about his finances and career path, Dixon submitted to Perry’s aggressive demands, but the aspiring actor insisted that he was asexual.
Perry believed him and he advised that Dixon work through his issues in therapy. Perry allegedly asked Dixon about his sexual preferences and whether he had resolved his issues with sex.
In one text message, Perry told Dixon that he had sex with men and that he was a power top – a man who gave anal intercourse, not received it. He told Dixon that the size of his manhood drove submissive men crazy.
Perry’s attorney allegedly called Dixon and told him that Christmas came early. Dixon would receive a $9,000 per episode raise on The Oval. But he was instructed not to tell the other cast members because they were not receiving raises for their work on the series.
“You don’t see that ‘stud’ in that ‘nice picture’”
After inviting The Oval cast members to his own private island in the Bahamas, Perry sent Dixon photos of himself wading in the ocean. Perry responded angrily when Dixon wrote “Nice picture” and commented on the water but not the “stud” in the photo.
“You don’t see that ‘stud’ in that ‘nice picture’… RUDE,” Perry wrote back.
Dixon wrote: “Lol. Yes that’s a stud!”
Perry called Dixon an “Asshole” for writing “lol.”
When Dixon told Perry that he was moving to Santa Monica to put distance between them, Perry sent a text message advising him to say a “strong no” when rich men like him proposition him for sex.
According to Dixon’s attorney, Perry blamed Dixon for not resisting when Perry sexually assaulted him. “You have to be able to say no. And mean it and make it clear,” Perry wrote.
After complying with Perry’s frequent demands for attention, Dixon’s character Dale survived being shot four times in the chest in the season’s final episode. His character lived to see another season on the show.
Perry’s attorney, Matthew Boyd, described the lawsuit as “fabricated lies” and a “shake-down.” He said Perry would defend the “false” allegations in court.
Perry was named the highest paid director/filmmaker in entertainment by Forbes magazine in 2011. His film projects have been heavily criticized by women who say the “Diary of a Mad Black Woman” director portrays black women in a negative light.
Perry shares a son named Aman with his former partner Gelila Bekele. Aman and Gelila reside in Africa.
Read the full court documents HERE.
BREAKING: DEREK DIXON HAS FILED A LAWSUIT ON TYLER PERRY FOR SEXUAL HARASSMENT, NEGLIGENCE, RETALIATION AND MUCH MORE. DIXON IS SEEKING $260 MILLION IN DAMAGES, GET INTO THE COURT DOCUMENTS BELOW ??
DIXON V. PERRY – https://t.co/aAJz6q4LPS pic.twitter.com/v1h6gT16FX
— Document Tingz (@DocumentTingz) June 17, 2025
