Tyler Perry Accuser Derek Dixon Breaks Silence on $260 Million Lawsuit

Things have been relatively quiet since actor Derek Dixon filed a bombshell lawsuit against entertainment mogul Tyler Perry that alleged sexual harassment and assault. The story gained some traction within Perry’s fanbase, with some questioning Dixon’s claims, but now the actor is breaking his silence on the matter and providing a bit more context on what he alleges happened to him while working under the popular Madea creator.

In a very detailed interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Dixon explains that making his $260 million lawsuit against Perry public has been a “terrifying” experience, but he felt the need to speak up because, as he puts it, “I couldn’t just let him get away with this.” Dixon’s lawsuit alleges that Perry made several sexual advances toward him, and even makes the allegation that the producer has a pattern of exploiting the male performers who work on his productions.

“Everyone deserves to go to work and do their job without their boss trying to have sex with them. My goal is to help ensure that the next generation of actors and creatives don’t have to choose between their dreams and their dignity.”

Dixon, who appeared in 85 episodes of Perry’s TV series The Oval between 2021 and 2025, says that he met the producer in 2019 in Atlanta when he was working as an event coordinator for Legendary Events. The party was put together by Tyler Perry Studios, which led to, according to Dixon, Perry singling him out to get on stage so he could check the lighting at the event. The conversation then turned to whether Dixon was an actor, who at the time was only dabbling in the profession in theater in Atlanta. The encounter led to the pair exchanging numbers, with Perry contacting him the very next day to ask him what his dream was and what he wanted to do, in terms of his career.

The exchange led to Dixon auditioning for the role of Dale on Perry’s series Ruthless, which was a spinoff of his show The Oval. Dixon got the small role, with the Straw director saying the part could become bigger. Before the expansion of the role would take place, Dixon alleges that Perry began making moves that were less than professional, which surprised the actor, who is an out gay man, because he, “did not know that Perry was interested in men or that he was looking for a sexual relationship.” It should be noted that during this period, Perry announced in December 2020 that he and his longtime girlfriend, Gelila Bekele, were ending their relationship.

Derek Dixon Details an Alleged Pattern of Harassment at the Hands of Tyler Perry

Dixon previously mentioned in his lawsuit that in January 2020, Perry invited him to his home in Georgia, where they both drank alcohol. According to Dixon, Perry insisted that he was too drunk to drive home and encouraged him to stay in his guest house. Dixon then claims, once he went to bed, “Perry climbed into bed with me and began rubbing my thigh. I immediately jumped out of bed and said, ‘I’m not that sexual’ and stood up until he left the room. I thought that my reaction made it clear that night that I was not interested.”

Dixon claims that following the incident, Perry would call or text him every day, and it only persisted if he ignored his attempts to get hold of him. After his texts went unanswered for days, Dixon says that’s when he offered to expand his role of Dale and make him a recurring player on the parent show, The Oval. Dixon thought his character would be killed off at the end of Ruthless, since he was shot four times in the chest, but Perry said if he did a good job, the character would likely survive, and then he said something that Dixon alleges was very telling. He said Perry shared, “Nobody gives him anything. He gives and gives, nobody ever gives back.” Dixon looked at this as a sort of fear tactic, with the actor saying, “I remember feeling my stomach drop when he said this. I knew that I couldn’t piss him off or my character could easily just stay dead.”

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According to Dixon, once he was given the news about his recurring character on The Oval, Perry’s texts and calls only increased. His lawsuit outlines that the conversations were rarely professional and always of a personal nature, with Perry requesting that he send pictures and then getting annoyed if he didn’t do so. However, when COVID-19 hit and production on The Oval was halted, Perry told Dixon to work on writing a comedy pilot, something he did, and said that Perry found the pilot hilarious and wanted to shoot it. During this period, there were spurts when there would be no inappropriate behavior, making Dixon believe he had finally gotten the picture, but soon the texts continued, with the actor alleging he would send messages about his body and that he should “let someone hold you and make love to you.” The pilot never got picked up.

Dixon goes on to discuss an escalating level of alleged harassment, with the actor believing that he was about to be raped during one incident at Perry’s house, When attempting to sleep in the guest house, Perry allegedly pulled down Dixon’s underwear and groped him after asking for a hug. The former The Oval actor said, “I told him ‘No,’ ‘Stop,’ and ‘I don’t want this,’ but he wasn’t stopping. He just told me to relax and let it happen and that he wasn’t going to hurt me.” Dixon says he stopped that encounter by telling Perry he couldn’t perform sexually unless he ate first, which led to the mogul being sent for pizza. Dixon alleges that they ate the pizza in the living room, and then he went back to the guest house and locked himself in the bathroom, where he fell asleep on the floor.

By June 2024, Dixon filed a sexual harassment complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and quit his job on The Oval. The actor claims he was expected to make $400,000 during his final season of the show, as he was under contract, but he felt his dignity was more important. The actor said:

“I was an employee, and he was my boss. The fact that I’m an actor doesn’t make me any less an employee. For a long time, I convinced myself that it was part of the industry, or that somehow I had to accept it to keep working. But eventually, I couldn’t stay silent anymore.”

Even though Dixon says responses to his lawsuit have been mixed, with the actor claiming he has received several online threats, he claims he has also spoken to others who have similar stories about Perry. There is an indication that these other encounters involve men because Dixon went on to say, “This is why people, especially men, don’t come forward,” when it comes to making sexual harassment claims.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter