Tyler Perry accused of sexual assault by actor Derek Dixon in lawsuit

US movie and TV large Tyler Perry has been sued for $260m (£194m) by an actor who has accused the mogul of sexually assaulting him whereas engaged on his TV reveals.Derek Dixon has filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles accusing Perry of utilizing his affect within the leisure trade to create a “coercive, sexually exploitative dynamic” whereas he was appearing on The Oval and Ruthless.He alleges Perry promised him a profitable appearing profession however then subjected him to “escalating sexual harassment, assault and battery, {and professional} retaliation” when he did not reciprocate Perry’s “undesirable advances”.Perry’s lawyer denied the allegations and referred to as the lawsuit a “rip-off” to earn a living.”That is a person who bought near Tyler Perry for what now seems to be nothing greater than organising a rip-off,” his legal professional Matthew Boyd advised the BBC. “However Tyler is not going to be shaken down and we’re assured these fabricated claims of harassment will fail.”Dixon mentioned he met Perry in 2019 at a piece occasion for Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, and the pair talked over a number of months about an appearing profession. The lawsuit states Perry additionally allegedly made quite a few sexual feedback and remarks about wanting a sexual relationship, and made a number of advances on Dixon – which he rejected.Perry supplied Dixon a task in his present Ruthless then later in The Oval. However the lawsuit mentioned: “Mr Perry made it clear to Dixon that if Dixon ignored Perry or failed to interact with the sexual innuendos, Dixon’s character would ‘die’ within the subsequent season.”The case claims Perry “all the time held this over Mr Dixon’s head, implying that [his character] ‘Dale’ would survive if Dixon stored Perry ‘glad'”.The lawsuit cites a number of incidents the place Perry allegedly sexually assaulted Dixon. The actor accused Perry of interrogating him over his sexual pursuits in a trailer on the set of The Oval, earlier than pinning him to a wall and fondling him. Dixon mentioned he refused the advance and left the trailer. Dixon mentioned to cease continued harassment, he elected to go away his function on The Oval and declined a job from Perry to work as a author.