Actor Derek Dixon from “The Oval” has stepped forward after filing a major $250 million lawsuit against Hollywood filmmaker Tyler Perry, accusing him of sexual assault and harassment.
“I couldn’t just let him get away with this,” Dixon shared with The Hollywood Reporter. “Everyone should be able to work without their superior trying to initiate unwanted sexual advances.”
“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.”
Dixon claimed he was “too afraid to come forward” over fears of negative attention saying, “This is why people, especially men, don’t come forward.”
“I knew it would be awful. And I was right,” he added.
The actor was then asked if he had tried settling the dispute with Perry in private.
“Efforts are often made to resolve these issues quietly, but they rarely lead to the changes needed to safeguard future victims,” he told the publication. “My biggest fear is that he might continue this behavior without facing significant repercussions.”
Dixon claimed that for a long time, he tried to bury his alleged experience, telling himself it “was part of the industry, or that I had to accept it to keep working.”
“But eventually, I couldn’t stay silent anymore,” he added.
In court documents obtained by The Post last month, Dixon sued Perry, 55, for alleged sexual assault and sexual harassment in a complaint filed with the Superior Court of California in Los Angeles.
The actor claimed Perry “took his success and power and used his considerable influence in the entertainment industry to create a coercive, sexually exploitative dynamic” between them when he worked on the set of “The Oval” and “Ruthless.”
The “Madea Goes to Jail” star quickly denied the allegations.
“This is an individual who got close to Tyler Perry for what now appears to be nothing more than setting up a scam,” Perry’s attorney Matthew Boyd told The Post last month. “But Tyler will not be shaken down and we are confident these fabricated claims of harassment will fail.”
In his filing, Dixon claimed that he was almost raped by Perry while once again visiting the entertainment mogul’s Georgia home in June 2021.
He alleged that Perry pulled down his underwear and groped his butt after asking for a “good night” hug.
“Rather than arguing, Dixon complied, at which point Perry reached out and yanked Dixon’s underwear down from behind,” the lawsuit read. “Perry then began to vigorously grab, grope, and play with Dixon’s buttocks in a sexual manner. Dixon was naked, stunned and seized by tremendous fear.”
“Dixon started to tell Perry that he ‘did not want [his] underwear down,’ that Dixon ‘didn’t want to be naked,’ and that Dixon ‘didn’t want this,’” the suit alleged.
“Dixon quickly reached to pull his underwear back up. As soon as he did, Perry grabbed Dixon’s reaching arm with a tight grip and held fast.”
According to the court documents, Dixon was able to distract Perry and change the subject before the alleged incident went any further.
Besides his many accusations against Perry, Dixon also included several years’ worth of alleged text message exchanges between the pair in his filing.
Dixon is suing Perry and Tyler Perry Studios for quid pro quo sexual harassment, work environment harassment, sexual harassment, workplace gender violence, sexual battery, sexual assault, retaliation, and more.
He is also seeking $260 million in damages.
