Derek Dixon, the actor who raised accusations of sexual harassment against Tyler Perry, has broken his silence after demanding the producer and media magnate for $ 260 million last month.
In his first interview since he filed the demand for the bomb in June, the actor “The Oval” Dixon told The Hollywood Reporter: “I could not let [Perry] get out of his. “
Dixon claimed in his complaint that when he worked for Perry from January 2020 to June 2024, the multipenate artist “held a pattern of harassment, aggression and sexual reprisals in the workplace,” according to judicial documents reviewed by The Times. Dixon appeared briefly in Bet's “Rushless” before getting a role in Perry's “The Oval”, appearing in 85 episodes from 2021 to 2025.
“Everyone deserves to go to work and do their job without their boss trying to have sex with them,” Dixon told Thr in a story published on Thursday. “My goal is to help ensure that the next generation of actors and creatives does not have to choose between their dreams and their dignity.”
Looking for a response from Perry, The Times on Friday was referred to the initial statement of Perry's lawyer, Matthew Boyd, who denies Dixon's accusations.
“This is an individual who approached Tyler Perry so now it seems to be nothing more to establish a scam,” Boyd said in the statement. “But Tyler will not be shaken and we are sure that these statements made of harassment will fail.”
Dixon remembered the departure of the store how to work initially for Perry and spoke more about the allegedly incessant attempts of the producer to cause a sexual relationship with his employee. In his suit, Dixon describes the sexually suggestive text messages that Perry allegedly sent, including one in which he asks the actor “What will you take to have sex without guilt?”
More condemnatory were the accusations of sexual assault that Dixon raised against Perry in his demand. The 46 -page complaint detailed multiple incidents, including one in Perry's guest house in Georgia, when the producer knocked down Dixon's underwear, the buttocks are groped. Dixon's complaint also claimed that Perry sexually assaulted him during a previous stay at his guest home and during a meeting in the director's advance.
According to the lawsuit, Dixon rejected Perry's advances and walked a very fine line, maintaining his interactions with Perry Professional but friendly enough to remain in his good thanks. Remembering the alleged assault on the trailer, Dixon said it would seem that Perry would go back and “would say things like 'we just need to be business'”.
“And I think, 'great. Yes'. Every time I thought it would stop,” he said.
Dixon states in his demand that Perry took advantage of his position in the entertainment industry, specifically his ability to give life to the actor's own television series, “create a coercive and sexually exploiting dynamic.” The lawsuit also says that Dixon “woke up” in June 2024 and realized that Perry would never be taken seriously to help Dixon grow his career. “
The actor reported the alleged abuse that he experienced to the Equal Employment Commission. Although the lawsuit states that the complaint was not investigated, THR reports that the case is pending. He told the magazine that he felt forced to sue Perry because “I was an employee, and he was my boss.”
He added: “For a long time, I convinced myself that it was part of the industry, or that somehow I had to accept it to continue working. But finally, I could no longer remain silent.”
Since he sued Perry, Dixon told Thr that he received mixed reactions, including online threats and the support of people who claim that they experienced a similar misconduct from Perry. He also said he decided to publicly accuse Perry, since he feels attempts to resolve matters in private “never results in the exchange rate necessary to protect the victims.”
Despite making public his accusations against Perry, Dixon said he fears that the producer “can continue doing this without any important consequence.”
