An actor and screenwriter, Derek Dixon, has filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Tyler Perry in Los Angeles County Superior Court, seeking $260 million in damages. The 46-page complaint alleges that Perry repeatedly made unwanted advances and attempted to cover up an assault by offering to develop a show. The lawsuit draws parallels to other high-profile sexual misconduct cases in the entertainment industry, suggesting that Perry’s success has led him to exploit his power.
According to Dixon, Perry, who had initially offered him his first acting role in 2019, invited him to his home in Georgia where unwanted sexual advances allegedly took place. The suit claims Perry groped Dixon while he was in bed, despite Dixon making it clear he was not interested in a sexual relationship. Perry reportedly continued to contact Dixon about his sexual life, becoming more aggressive when Dixon did not reciprocate. After Dixon left his job to work on Perry’s show “The Oval,” he claims Perry would frequently question him about his sexual preferences and treated him as an “on-call pet,” suggesting that his job security depended on maintaining this ‘relationship.’
The suit details further allegations of groping during a cast trip in 2020 and at Perry’s home in 2021. Despite initially feeling pressured to keep quiet in exchange for career opportunities, Dixon ultimately filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. A lawyer for Perry has dismissed the allegations as a “scam” and expressed confidence that the claims will not hold up. The status of Dixon’s EEOC complaint is currently unclear.
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