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Who Is Derek Dixon, Actor Suing Tyler Perry for Sexual Assault?

Who Is Derek Dixon, Actor Suing Tyler Perry for Sexual Assault?

Yahoo18 hours ago

There's growing curiosity about who Derek Dixon, the actor suing Tyler Perry, is. Dixon has come forward with serious accusations against the filmmaker, alleging sexual harassment, assault, and professional retaliation. The lawsuit has quickly gained widespread attention due to the seriousness of the claims.
Tyler Perry is being sued by actor and playwright Derek Dixon, who is best known for his long-running role as Dale on Perry's BET series The Oval. Dixon, originally from Raleigh, North Carolina, worked with Perry for several years and appeared in more than 100 episodes of The Oval. He also acted in Perry's Ruthless and was first introduced to the filmmaker in 2019 at a party hosted by an events company where Dixon was working. Shortly after their meeting, Perry offered Dixon a role in The Restless, which eventually led to his casting in The Oval.
In addition to acting, Dixon has an extensive background in theater. He studied at Marymount Manhattan College and trained at The Terry Schreiber Studio in New York. As a playwright, he was named co-winner of the 2016 Essential Theatre Playwriting Award. His works include Homewrecker, Red Snow, Pictures of People, Work of Art, and Green Light. On stage, he has performed in productions such as The Lion in Winter, Romeo and Juliet, and The Boys In The Band.
Dixon's lawsuit accuses Perry of misconduct that allegedly took place during their professional relationship. According to legal filings, Dixon claims that Perry used his power and influence to initiate unwanted advances. It escalated into sexual harassment, physical assault, and professional retaliation after Dixon declined to reciprocate. He says the situation forced him to exit The Oval midway through its sixth season. Dixon is now seeking $260 million in damages.
Tyler Perry has firmly denied the accusations. His attorney, Matthew Boyd, stated, '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.' (via Money Control)
The post Who Is Derek Dixon, Actor Suing Tyler Perry for Sexual Assault? appeared first on ComingSoon.net - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More.

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Tyler Perry denies ‘scam' sexual assault allegations against him made by The Oval actor
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Tyler Perry has vehemently denied the sexual assault allegations made against him by one of his former actors, calling the accusations a 'scam'. The 55-year-old actor and filmmaker is being sued for alleged sexual assault, battery, quid pro quo, and workplace sexual harassment by an actor who starred in his long-running political drama, The Oval. The actor, Derek Dixon, who appeared on both the six-season drama and its spinoff Ruthless as Dale, filed the lawsuit in the Los Angeles Superior Court on 13 June. In the filing, obtained by The Independent, Perry is accused of using his 'success and power' and his 'considerable influence in the entertainment industry to create a coercive, sexually exploitative dynamic' with Dixon while he was employed as a series regular on The Oval. In response to the complaint, Matthew Boyd, an attorney for Perry and TPS Production Services, LLC, said, "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." The lawsuit claims that Perry initially promised Dixon 'career advancement and creative opportunities, such as producing his pilot and casting him in his show, only to subject him to escalating sexual harassment, assault and battery, and professional retaliation when Mr Dixon did not reciprocate Mr Perry's unwanted advances'. Dixon alleges that in 2020 Perry climbed into bed with him after a night of drinking and that Perry aggressively groped his buttocks while the pair were in Perry's trailer on the set of The Oval. Dixon allegedly met Perry in September 2019 while he was working for the event company that organised the opening party for the media mogul's Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It's further claimed that from then on, Perry sometimes texted Dixon sexual advances and other times he messaged him about helping him find a job. After Perry offered Dixon a role in The Oval, the actor quit his job at the events company and Perry's alleged advances became more frequent. Dixon claims he was worried he would lose his job if he refused Perry's advances outright, so he continued to maintain that he was simply not interested in sex. At the end of one season, Perry wrote into The Oval that Dixon's character had been shot multiple times, but left it unclear as to whether the character had died. Dixon says he interpreted this as Perry putting pressure on him to maintain their relationship or otherwise be written out of the show. Dixon also alleges that Perry intimated he was interested in producing a show he had written, called Losing It, as a way of making him more dependent on the producer. Dixon says that he then called Perry's lawyers to check if the pilot was moving ahead, only to be told that it wasn't. He also claims that he was assaulted by Perry during a 2020 trip to the Bahamas and in 2021, while staying in Perry's guest house, he was again sexually assaulted and, fearing that he would be raped, slept inside a locked bathroom. A few days after the incident, Perry allegedly called Dixon and blamed his actions on testosterone supplements. He again promised to make Dixon's show and bought the rights but never took action to produce it. According to Dixon, after he complained about the alleged misconduct, 'defendants did not make any investigation into the complaint and did not take any steps to prevent further harassment from occurring.' As a result, Dixon 'had to quit his job working on the last season of The Oval,' a decision that cost him around $400,000 in lost wages. 'Dixon did not want to be sexually harassed or be placed in danger of a sexual assault again,' the filing states as his reason for leaving the show and giving up the money. Dixon claims that as a result of Perry's actions, he suffered from severe depression, anxiety, stomach pains, and nausea and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). He is suing for $260 million in total damages as well as legal expenses.

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