Popular Hollywood director and producer Tyler Perry has been sued for $260m (£194m) by an actor who accused him of sexual assault while working on his TV shows.
The man, Derek Dixon, recently filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles, accusing Tyler of using his influence in the entertainment industry to create a “coercive, sexually exploitative dynamic” while he was on the set of “The Oval” and “Ruthless.”
According to him, Tyler Perry vowed to make him a successful actor before subjecting him to “escalating sexual harassment, assault and battery, and professional retaliation” just because he refused to give in to his “unwanted advances.”
Perry’s legal team has since denied the allegations, describing the lawsuit as a scam to make money.
The Hollywood icon’s lawyer, Matthew Boyd, revealed that Derek obviously got close to Tyler Perry to scam him, but his client is sure that the fabricated claims of harassment will not succeed.
“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,” he said.
According to Derek, he met Perry 6 years ago at a Hollywood event for Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, and they conversed for many months about his acting career.
The recent lawsuit states that Tyler allegedly made several sexual comments and remarks about wanting a sexual relationship, which Derek immediately rejected.
“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,” it read.
The case claimed the filmmaker “always held this over Mr Derek’s head, implying that [his character] ‘Dale’ would survive if Dixon kept Perry ‘happy'”
The lawsuit referenced various incidents where Tyler Perry allegedly sexually assaulted Derek.
Accusing Tyler of interrogating him over his sexual interests in a trailer on the set of “The Oval,” Derek noted that the “Acrimony” director pinned him to a wall and fondled him, forcing him to leave the trailer.
Derek added that to prevent further harassment, he decided to quit his role on “The Oval” before turning down a different job from Tyler Perry to work as a writer.
