Tyler Perry is at the center of a legal battle after actor Derek Dixon recently filed a lawsuit accusing the filmmaker of misconduct.
The claims include sexual harassment, workplace gender violence, and sexual assault.
Dixon, who appeared in Perry’s TV productions Ruthless and The Oval, alleged that the producer created a “coercive, sexually exploitative dynamic” by using his status and control in the industry.
He said Perry lured him with promises of career growth but instead subjected him to “escalating sexual harassment, assault and battery.”
According to Dixon, the abuse took place while Perry “held direct control over his employment, compensation, and creative opportunities.”
Reacting to the allegations, Perry’s attorney Matthew Boyd dismissed them as a “shakedown.”
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“This is an individual who got close to Tyler Perry for what now appears to be nothing more than setting up a scam,” Boyd said.
“But Tyler will not be shaken down and we are confident these fabricated claims of harassment will fail.”
Perry has not spoken publicly about the case but has denied all accusations through his legal team.