Everything To Know About Derek Dixon And His Sexual Assault Allegations Against Tyler Perry

Graziadaily

18-06-2025

Tyler Perry, the US film and TV giant, has been faced with sexual harassment, workplace gender violence and sexual assault accusations in a new lawsuit filed last week by Derek Dixon.
Dixon has filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles accusing Perry of creating a 'coercive, sexually exploitative dynamic' by using his influence in the entertainment industry. Perry's lawyer denied the allegations.
Perry is one of the entertainment industry's biggest names, with a string of successful shows under his belt. The mogul is best known for creating the immensely popular Madea character, who was played by Perry in a string of widely successful films from 2005 to 2022.
Naturally, people are interested to know more about Derek Dixon. On Google trends, 'Derek Dixon' is a breakout search term under Tyler Perry's name, with people searching for information about the lawsuit and which shows he worked on with Perry.
Derek Dixon is an actor who is most well-known for his role as Dale on Perry's show The Oval. He was born in North California, and completed his education at Marymount Manhattan College and later acted at the Terry Schreiber Studio in New York.
Alongside the Oval, Dixon worked with Perry on another American drama called Ruthless. The show is a spin-off of The Oval, and tells the story of a woman named Ruth who kidnaps her young daughter to join a religious cult. Dixon has also had multiple roles in theatre productions, including The Lion in Winter, Romeo and Juliet, and The Boys in the Band.
According to People, who obtained the lawsuit, Dixon met Perry in 2019 at a party for the opening of Perry's studio in Atlanta. At the time, Dixon was working for an events company that had organised the party for the filmmaker. Dixon and Perry swapped numbers, according to Dixon.
'Perry allegedly "picked [Dixon] out of a crowd of employees present at the party, and began asking [Dixon] questions about his employment status, and whether Plaintiff was an actor,' with Perry initially offered him career advancement.
Perry later offered Dixon a role on Ruthless, promising that 'it was a small role that could get a lot bigger.'
Derek Dixon's is suing Perry for $260m (£194m), accusing the mogul of sexually assaulting him while working on his TV shows. Dixon's lawsuit accuses Perry of using his influence in the entertainment industry to create a 'coercive, sexually exploitative dynamic' while he was acting on Perry's shows The Oval and Ruthless.
He alleges Perry promised him career advancement but then subjected him to 'escalating sexual harassment, assault and battery, and professional retaliation' when he didn't reciprocate Perry's 'unwanted advances.'
Perry and Dixon worked together on Ruthless and The Oval. However, the lawsuit states: '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 claims Perry 'always held this over Mr Dixon's head, implying that [his character] 'Dale' would survive if Dixon kept Perry 'happy'".
Perry's lawyer denied the allegations and called the lawsuit a 'scam to make money.'
'This is an individual who got close to Tyler Perry for what now appears to be nothing more than setting up a scam,' his attorney Matthew Boyd said in a media statement. 'But Tyler will not be shaken down and we are confident these fabricated claims of harassment will fail.'
The lawsuit outlines multiple incidents of sexual harassment and assault that unfolded over several years. 'On multiple occasions, Mr. Perry sexually assaulted Mr. Dixon, including one instance where he forcibly pulled off Mr. Dixon's clothing, groped his buttocks, and attempted to force himself on Dixon,' it reads.