Derek Dixon, the actor suing Tyler Perry for sexual assault and harassment, appeared in an interview with ABC News on Tuesday, detailing his allegations against the entertainment mogul. Dixon says he was exploited by Perry while appearing in the producer’s bet series The Oval. Perry’s lawyers issued a statement denying the allegations.
In an interview with Linsey Davis of ABC News, Dixon detailed the alleged cases included in the lawsuit. He says that after Perry drank the night at Perry’s residence in Atlanta, Perry “pulled my underwear down and grabbed my ass.”
“We were both back in the guest area, but we stayed before. Along the way there is this health monitor scale. “What is that?” and he said, “Well, you have to be in your underwear to measure.” …He reached over, pulled his underwear down and grabbed my ass and I tried to stop him and pulled him back,” Dixon said in an interview. “He grabbed my arm and said, ‘No, no, it’s fine. Just go with that.” And I said, “I don’t want this.” And he said, “I’m not going to hurt you.” ”
“Unless someone is taking away something that’s controlling your body, you really don’t understand the emotions you’ll get in that moment,” Dixon continued. “All thoughts came to my mind: to run, to fight, to freeze. I didn’t know what to do.”
The evening was said to have ended with Dixon locking himself in the bathroom of the guesthouse. He says Perry called to apologise the next day. Dixon says that before the incident he had been staying at Perry’s guesthouse the evening before.
“I jumped out of bed and he said, ‘I can turn around and see you,’ and commented on how I looked. And he stood up and left,” Dixon told Davis. “After that, I thought it was pretty clear that I wasn’t interested in that type of relationship. … It’s okay if people try to move or shoot shots, but I think if they’re rejected, they should stop.
Dixon also says Perry sent him numerous texts in sexual terms. Like his case, Dixon says he feared professional retaliation if he ignored Perry’s message. In the season 2 episode of “The Oval,” Dixon’s character is filmed multiple times. It’s the script decision that Dixon said, “If I don’t make him happy, I can die on the show.”
“For me, it was his way of showing strength in us and our careers,” Dixon said. “I was very anxious. I called and texted almost every day. It hit my anxiety and depression a lot.”
Dixon left the show in September 2024. His lawsuit against Perry was filed in June. Dixon is seeking $260 million in punitive damages from Perry.
“A portion of that number is my lost work. My lost income, my loss of show. The rest is the deterrent of how to stop billionaires who don’t stop this,” Dixon said. “I hope you’re accountable for what happened. I hope this taught you not to treat your employees this way. Don’t use someone’s dreams to force them into a relationship. It’s not professional.”
In both the lawsuit and interview, Dixon also says that Perry agreed to produce the pilot he wrote for the show entitled “Losing It.” Perry is said to still own the rights.
Perry’s lawyers did not comment on the interview with Dixon. After the lawsuit was filed, they denied Dixon’s claim and characterized the lawsuit as a “shakedown.” In a statement to the post-submitted report, Perry’s lawyer, Matthew Boyd, wrote:
