Tyler Perry Sued for Sexual Assault and Harassment by ‘The Oval’ Actor

Derek Dixon filed a lawsuit against Perry, and in the docs he claims he and the director met at an event back in 2019 — in Derek’s words, Tyler picked him out of the crowd and asked for his phone number, suggesting he might have a role for him.

As it turns out, he did … Derek says Tyler gave him a small role in 2 episodes of a show called, “Ruthless.”

Then, in January 2020, Derek says Tyler invited him to his Atlanta home, and he accepted, hoping to build a friendship that would lead to more acting gigs. But, according to the suit, while there … Derek drank too much, and ended up sleeping in a guest room.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Derek claims Tyler got into the bed with him, and started touching his thighs — and, although, he rejected the advances that night … he claims Tyler remained interested.

Shortly thereafter, Derek says he landed the role of Dale in “The Oval” — great for his career, but he claims it was around this time that Tyler also started firing off sexually suggestive texts … including asking what Drew’s sexual preferences were, and telling him he has sex with men.

Derek also notes his character, Dale, was written as a gay, homeless and desperate store clerk who had to sleep with other characters for a place to stay. He claims that’s exactly what Tyler told him he was looking for in a real life sexual partner … someone who would be loyal and dependent upon Tyler.

Derek says he feared his career would be derailed if he flatly rejected Tyler — so, instead he told him he just wasn’t “the sexual type” … but he was always terrified he’d lose his job if he complained of sexual harassment.

To that point, he says Tyler, once again, invited him to Atlanta later in 2020 … and things allegedly took a dark turn. Derek claims Perry greeted him warmly, but quickly started a sexually charged conversation — like asking him if he “likes it rough in bed” — and then grabbed Derek by the throat while saying, “Look how excited you just got.”

He says he pushed Tyler away, and that was the end of that alleged incident.

The lawsuit includes years of text messages allegedly sent by between both men — most of the ones Tyler allegedly sent are sexually charged … for instance one reads, “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.”

The most aggressive incident allegedly went down in June 2021, again at Tyler’s Atlanta home — Dixon was staying in the guest house and wearing only his underwear, when he says Tyler came in to give him a goodnight hug.

He alleges Tyler yanked down his underwear, groped his butt and said, “Relax and just let it happen” and assured him it wasn’t going to hurt. Dixon says he managed to rebuff this advance by changing the subject.

According to the suit, Dixon finally filed a complaint with Equal Employment and Opportunity Commission in June 2024, and then quit “The Oval,” saying he could no longer put up with the alleged sexual harassment.

Dixon is suing Tyler and Tyler Perry Studios for quid pro quo and workplace sexual harassment and sexual assault and battery … and he’s seeking $260 million in damages.

In the complaint filed Friday, June 13, in Los Angeles, which was obtained by PEOPLE, Dixon accused Perry of creating “a coercive, sexually exploitative dynamic” between them while he was starring on the filmmaker’s shows The Oval and Ruthless, on which Dixon starred as a character named Dale.

The complaint accused Perry of “initially promising him career advancement and creative opportunities, such as producing his pilot and casting him in his show, only to subject him to escalating sexual harassment, assault and battery, and professional retaliation when Mr. Dixon did not reciprocate Mr. Perry’s unwanted advances.”

Matthew Boyd, an attorney for Perry, responded to Dixon’s complaint in a statement to PEOPLE, saying, “This is an individual who got close to Tyler Perry for what now appears to be nothing more than setting up a scam.”

“But Tyler will not be shaken down and we are confident these fabricated claims of harassment will fail,” the statement continued.

Dixon claimed he met Perry in September 2019 when working the opening party for Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, Georgia.

Dixon alleged that, over the next few months, Perry often texted him, sometimes with suggestive advances, but also that he wanted to find Dixon a job and change his life. In November 2019, Dixon claimed Perry offered him a small role on Ruthless.

Dixon claimed that Perry sexually assaulted him at Perry’s home in January 2020, and the next month, he offered Dixon a series regular role on The Oval, the complaint states.

The actor alleged that, upon reading the script for his first season, he discovered his character’s fate was left up in the air in the finale.

“Mr. Perry made it clear to Dixon that if Dixon ignored Perry or failed to engage with the sexual innuendos, Dixon’s character would ‘die’ in the next season,” the complaint alleged. “Indeed, Dixon’s character ‘Dale’ was shot four times in the chest at the end of his first season on ‘The Oval,’ and Perry always held this over Mr. Dixon’s head, implying that ‘Dale’ would survive if Dixon kept Perry ‘happy.'”

Dixon recounted a moment after filming the scene in which his character was shot, Perry invited him to his trailer, where he allegedly pinned him to the wall of his trailer and began “aggressively groping Dixon’s buttocks in a sexual motion.”

In the complaint, The actor claimed he was similarly groped during a cast trip to the Bahamas in October 2020.

Dixon alleged that in December 2020 he visited a physician “who indicated that Dixon’s exhibited severe symptoms of acute stress, insomnia, stomach issues, and dangerously low cortisol levels due to the sexual harassment and assault” and prescribed him Zoloft, an antidepressant.

Dixon claimed Perry invited him to his house again in June 2021 to discuss Dixon’s pilot for his show Losing It, which Perry had expressed interest in producing. He alleged he was again sexually assaulted by Perry at this meeting.

Over the next five months, Dixon said he “suffered from severe depression, anxiety, stomach pains, and nausea” and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following the alleged incidents.

Dixon claimed that Perry’s “fixers” offered him a raise to return to The Oval and that Perry would buy the right to produce his show, Losing It.

Dixon informed Perry in January 2023 that he was moving to California to “put some distance” between them.

Dixon continued to star on The Oval but left during the show’s final season, a move he claimed resulted in him losing out on close to $400,000.

According to the complaint, the actor is suing Perry for quid pro quo sexual harassment, sexual battery, sexual assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress, retaliation and more.

Dixon is requesting a jury trial and for damages of $260 million.

PEOPLE has reached out to representatives for BET, the network behind Ruthless and The Oval, for comment.