Tyler Perry is being sued for alleged sexual assault, battery, quid pro quo, and workplace sexual harassment by an actor who starred on his long-running political drama, The Oval.

The actor, Derek Dixon, who appeared on both the six-season drama and its spinoff Ruthless as Dale, filed the lawsuit in the Los Angeles Superior Court on June 13. 

In the filing, obtained by The Independent, Perry is accused of using his “success and power” and his “considerable influence in the entertainment industry to create a coercive, sexually exploitative dynamic” with Dixon while he was employed as a series regular on The Oval.

The documents allege that Perry, 55, initially promised Dixon “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.” Dixon alleges that in 2020 Perry climbed into bed with him after a night of drinking, and that Perry aggressively groped his buttocks while the pair were in Perry’s trailer on the set of The Oval.

Perry’s lawyer, Matthew Boyd, responded to Dixon’s accusations, saying in a statement shared with The Independent: “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.”

Source: TheIndependent