Tyler Perry emerges for first time since male accuser spoke out amid bombshell $260M sexual harassment lawsuit
The 55-year-old actor and filmmaker was the guest of honor at a special screening in Atlanta, Georgia, of his new movie Madea's Destination Wedding, which is distributed by Netflix.
He grinned as if nothing was amiss despite his accuser, Derek Dixon, delving into his accusations the day before in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
'I couldn't just let [Perry] get away with this,' the actor told the publication.
Perry looked totally at ease on the red carpet in a dark blue Louis Vuitton jeans and a matching short-sleeve button-up shirt with a moiré design, as well as nubuck work boots.
He was pictured inside the theater speaking to audience members, and at one point he could be seen leaning forward to hug a woman who stood up in the front row.
Dixon said in legal docs reviewed by DailyMail.com last month that Perry, 55, aggressively tried to establish a sexual dynamic between them when he appeared on two of Perry's programs on BET: Ruthless and The Oval.
Perry, who counts Oprah and Meghan Markle among his closest confidantes, 'will not be shaken down and we are confident these fabricated claims of harassment will fail,' his lawyer Matthew Boyd told DailyMail.com in a statement denying the claims.
Boyd said of Dixon: 'This is an individual who got close to Tyler Perry for what now appears to be nothing more than setting up a scam.'
Dixon, who is in his late 30s, has now spoken out about why he took legal action, saying: 'I couldn't just let him get away with this.'
He told THR: '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.'
In the legal complaint, Dixon said that Perry looked to establish 'a coercive, sexually exploitative dynamic' between them when he worked on the set of The Oval and Ruthless, portraying a character by the name of Dale.
He claims Perry pinned him against a wall and groped him, and snuck into his bed in another alleged incident.
Dixon says he first met Perry in Atlanta in September 2019 while working as an event coordinator for Legendary Events, that was organizing the opening party for Tyler Perry Studios.
Dixon claims Perry 'singled him out' and asked him 'to get on stage so he could check the lighting and then asked Dixon if he was an actor.'
He says then they exchanged numbers and Perry 'began texting him the next day' asking 'So who are you? What's the dream? What do you want to do?'
Perry then gave Dixon the chance to audition for Dale in Ruthless, a spin-off of The Oval, and Dixon was cast.
Dixon, who is an out gay man, says in his complaint at that time he 'did not know that Perry was interested in men or that he was looking for a sexual relationship.'
In December 2020 Perry and the mother of his child Gelila Bekele would split.
Dixon said: 'I'm not going to speak for him on how he identifies sexually. Regardless of his sexual orientation or gender, he should not be speaking to any of his employees whether they be men or women, gay, straight or bisexual about their sexual preferences, how often they're having sex and physically assaulting them.
In January 2020 Dixon alleges in his complaint that Perry invited him to his Douglasville County, Georgia home - where they both drank alcohol.
Perry allegedly told Dixon he was too drunk to drive home and offered him the guest house. Dixon claims after he went to bed: '[Perry] climbed into bed with me and began rubbing my thigh. I immediately jumped out of the 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 after this Perry called or texted him every day, which he ignored. He claims Perry texted him saying he wanted to expand his role on Ruthless to be a regular on The Oval.
In February 2020, Dixon told the court, Perry offered him a recurring role on The Oval. (He wound up playing the role of Dale over 85 episodes spread over five seasons from 2021–2025.)
Dixon said Perry displayed his massive power by leaving his character Dale with an unknown fate to conclude The Oval's first season.
'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,' the actor's legal complaint read.
Perry subjected Dixon to 'escalating sexual harassment, assault and battery, and professional retaliation when Mr. Dixon did not reciprocate Mr. Perry's unwanted advances,' the legal complaint stated.
Dixon said in his legal complaint that Perry's harassment also occurred in the wake of filming the scene in which his character Dale had been shot.
In the legal complaint, the actor said that the entertainment magnate began to aggressively grope his buttocks 'in a sexual motion,' which also had allegedly happened during an October 2020 Bahamas trip with the cast.
Dixon claimed Perry's calls and texts intensified - with the mogul allegedly frequently asking him to 'send pics' and getting annoyed if he did not answer immediately.
Dixon, who is in his late 30s, has now spoken out about why he took legal action, saying: 'I couldn't just let him get away with this.' He told THR : 'Everyone deserves to go to work and do their job without their boss trying to have sex with them'
When the pandemic hit and production on The Oval delayed, Perry allegedly encouraged Dixon to write a comedy pilot and told Dixon he wanted to greenlight the project - which the actor said caused him to 'ignore certain warning signs.'
Texts in Dixon's complaint include Perry branding Dixon's body 'thick', telling Dixon he needed to 'let someone hold you and make love to you' and asking if he 'liked being choked' after shooting a choking scene.
Dixon claims one day on set Perry invited him to his trailer for a drink - which he felt he 'couldn't say no' to. He claims Perry asked if Dixon was attracted to him - to which Dixon responded he 'wasn't that sexual' and 'wasn't looking for anything.'
He claims when he left and they hugged, Perry pushed him against the wall and grabbed his buttocks . He claims after 'doing things like that' Perry would stress they needed to be 'professional.'
Dixon alleges that Perry's behavior towards him became more volatile with one text in the complaint from the mogul reading: 'Don't you dare ignore me. I deserve better. I deserve attention all the time.'
Another read: 'What's it going to take for you to have guiltless sex?'
Dixon claims Perry asked him on set if he 'needed to 'punch [Dixon] in the stomach' for him to deliver the performance he wanted.
Dixon said that a doctor's visit in late 2020 'indicated that [he] exhibited severe symptoms of acute stress, insomnia, stomach issues, and dangerously low cortisol levels due to the sexual harassment and assault.'
He also said he was subsequently prescribed the antidepressant Zoloft in December of 2020.
Dixon claims in the complaint that in June 2021, Perry once again invited him to his house, which he was worried about 'but I knew I had to go.
'I thought if he tried anything again, I could handle it and de-escalate it like I usually did' he said.
He claims they got drunk together again and Perry invited him to sleep in the guest house - before an alleged incident which led Dixon to believe he was about to be raped.
Elaborating on an allegation in the complaint, he said: 'He told me to give him a goodnight hug and as I did, he abruptly and forcefully pulled down my underwear and groped my bare ass. When I tried to pull my underwear back up, he grabbed my wrists to keep me from putting them back on. I couldn't believe what was happening.
'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 said he was able to get out of the situation by saying he was hungry and asking Perry to get him a pizza.
He says they ate together in the living room, before Dixon returned to the guest house, 'locked himself in the bathroom and fell asleep on the floor.'
In the next few days Dixon said he contacted a lawyer who told him he would need to quit The Oval if he was going to take legal action.
He said he also informed a co-worker - who informed him of the opportunity he'd lose if he quit, with Dixon saying: 'I was too afraid to come forward. I knew it would be awful. And I was right.'
Dixon said he avoided Perry for the next several months, turning down a yacht trip.
He also claims Perry's production company informed him they wanted to shoot the pilot soon, and that the star's attorneys informed him he was the only one of his cast mates getting a raise.
Dixon claims he 'decided to stay quiet' as he hoped the pilot would come off and he could find new work. The pilot was allegedly shot by Perry in March 2022 but Dixon claims in his complaint that 'Perry's contract with Viacom prohibited him from shopping the show for two years.'
Dixon said in the legal complaint, he told Perry in January of 2023 that he was relocating to California to establish 'some distance' between the two of them and that the move cost him nearly $400,000, as he was sidelined during the final season of The Oval as result of his relocation.
In June 2024 Dixon quit The Oval and filed a sexual harassment complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. He says he was under contract for the show to make 'close to $400,000.' The complaint is pending.
Dixon claimed there had been 'attempts' to resolve the situation with Perry privately which had failed.
He said: 'At the end of the day my absolute fear is that he will be able to continue doing this without any major consequences.'
DailyMail.com has contacted representatives for Tyler Perry for comment - who once again denied all claims made by Dixon.
Dixon accuses Perry of sexual harassment, battery and assault and more in the lawsuit, requesting a total of $260 million in damages.
Described by The Sunday Times as one of the 'most powerful people in the film and television industry - and one of the richest', Perry famously lent his $18m California home to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex after they quit the royal family in 2020.
At the time neither Markle nor Perry had met each other, but the pair are now close friends as he is godfather to the couple's daughter Lilibet.
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