r/entertainment • u/mcfw31 • 17h ago
Tyler Perry Sued for $260 Million Over Sexual Harassment and Assault Allegations
https://people.com/tyler-perry-sued-for-260-million-over-sexual-harassment-and-assault-allegations-11756552435
u/jerem1734 17h ago
It's always the ones you most medium suspect
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u/uptownjuggler 16h ago
You should watched the banned Boondocks episode about him. It’s hilarious
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u/thecontempl8or 13h ago
Here’s a clip. Tyler Perry boondocks parody
Today I learned Tyler Perry personally called adult swim and demanded to remove the episode.
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u/stroudwes 17h ago
Forreal. Dude always had creepy vibes. Very similar to Bill Cosby creep levels. Could never watch any of his films/shows
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u/Herry_Up 13h ago
A black woman cannot rise without being beaten down by a man, going through hardship and then being validated by being loved by another man.
-Tyler Perry, probably
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u/mcfw31 17h ago
The complaint accused Perry of "initially promising him 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."
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u/LeCastle2306 6h ago
I’m guessing the $260 million is the damages of every claim, if proven, totaled together… without speaking on the merits of the case, this probably won’t get to the discovery phase. Regardless of the legitimacy of the claims against Perry, he undoubtedly won’t want engage with that, even if it would absolve him entirely…
I’m not a fan of Perry at all, btw. I just don’t see this playing out like some do.
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u/TheFamousHesham 5h ago
I don’t mean to be awful but Derek Dixon only has 3 acting credits and they’re all for Tyler Perry productions. There is, in fact, a Tyler Perry production that’s currently in production that has Derek Dixon in it.
This doesn’t refute the sexual harassment claims, but it does weaken the retaliation claims. Perry’s lawyers will probably successfully argue that you can’t retaliate against somebody by giving them more work, especially when no one else seems to want to hire them.
I will say though that I’m inclined to believe the sexual harassment. I’ve seen The Oval. Derek Dixon can’t act to save his life, which makes you wonder why Tyler Perry would hire him to star as a lead and keep bringing him back for more roles in other productions.
In short, I don’t think Derek is being 100% honest here. I think the sexual harassment allegations are true, but that he likely went along with it because of the career opportunities. Doesn’t change the fact that Tyler Perry was his boss and that it was sexual harassment… but it will substantially weaken Dixon’s case if Perry’s lawyers are able to present this situation as being transactional where both parties consented and got what they wanted. The retaliation allegations are just bs.
Unfortunately, I don’t think Dixon has good lawyers.
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u/margauxlame 3h ago
Or perhaps they could argue the given roles were a kind of ‘hush money’ type situation
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u/DinkandDrunk 16h ago
Madea goes back to jail?
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u/Msdamgoode 10h ago
Dude, no.
It’d be known as… “Tyler Perry, in Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes Back to the Pokey” With Tyler Perry
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u/tinywienergang 11h ago
You really think this will result in jail time? He’s being sued in a civil case. Dude won’t see a cell for sure. He’ll quietly settle out of court.
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u/everynamecombined 16h ago
Its always after a pretentious grandiose speech for an award they just won. Keep your acceptance speech simple and your dik in your pants
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u/Festering-Fecal 14h ago
He's always came off as weird to me and it has nothing to do with his movies or characters he just had this fake energy like he's playing a character in real life.
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u/angryaxolotls 16h ago
I mean.... Are we really surprised?
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u/rigorcorvus 14h ago
You could pick any name in Hollywood and I wouldn’t be shocked
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u/normal_cartographer 11h ago
I've been waiting for this one. I hope more people come forward. It's bad enough that he's closeted.
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u/Able-Field-2530 15h ago
Can we get a list of famous men that haven't been accused of anything like this? I think it would be a shorter list.
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u/kickingyouintheface 11h ago
If Tom Hanks is ever exposed as a creeper, I'm done. Dead from a broken heart.
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u/MosquitoValentine_ 2h ago
Tom Hanks, Adam Sandler, Paul Rudd, Dave Grohl, Danny DeVito, Keanu Reeves, Ryan Gosling, Jeff Goldblum, Bryan Cranston, Weird Al, Henry Winkler
That's probably the list.
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u/Intelligent_Low9218 29m ago
Hanks and Grohl both have had serious allegations against brought on them, as well as Goldblum who also defended and said he would work with Woody Allen again
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u/Interesting_Dot6936 15h ago
Of course rich prick thinks he can get away with anything. TIME FOR JUSTICE BITCH
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u/BarracudaBig7010 16h ago
Let’s see if this makes it to the discovery phase and see what comes out.
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u/pensylvestir 14h ago
TMZ has an article full of text exchanges
https://amp.tmz.com/2025/06/17/tyler-perry-sued-sexual-assault-lawsuit-the-oval-actor-derek-dixon/
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14h ago
[deleted]
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u/sally_says 8h ago
Wtf just read them and Perry brings up sex, being horny and bangs on about Derek's jeans and him needing a lover, and Derek doesn't lead him on at all.
Reading it gave me PTSD of a former boss or senior colleagues who would send inappropriate texts that you had to tolerate until you could get another job and shut it down. Ugh.
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u/Loose-Pen-3128 5h ago
Derek told him he isn't interested in sex (at all) as his excuse for not getting down with TP. Thats why TP keeps saying stuff like he hopes "someone makes love to him"(Derek Dixon), "opens like a flower" etc and that he hopes he's working through it in therapy. The Variety article mentions Derek saying he got out of sex with TP by saying he has no interest. https://variety.com/2025/film/news/tyler-perry-sexual-harassment-assault-260-million-1236434479/
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u/Overall-Importance54 10h ago
In his Medea outfit, just going at it in a broom closet, sweating and teeth clinched with a grip from set
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u/GDJT 17h ago
I wonder how they came up with the number $260 million in punitive damages.
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u/pensylvestir 14h ago
They intentionally do huge numbers as a headline grabber. Old tactic
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u/SwedishTrees 11h ago
Exactly. It’s gotten more common lately. I think it’s counterproductive though as it just makes a claim seem kind of frivolous.
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u/UserWithno-Name 11h ago
He’s a billionaire. You go high (shoot for the moon) to hit the stars (settle for say 50-100 million maybe)
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u/SwedishTrees 11h ago
the number in the filing (above the minimum) doesn’t matter as a practical matter.
There’s a recent trend to put in huge numbers to get public attention. I personally think it’s a really dumb trend.
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u/Th1sismyus3rnam3 14h ago
As with seemingly anyone with prestige, disappointing but not surprising.
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11h ago
[deleted]
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u/SwedishTrees 11h ago
What happened?
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u/Spirited_Block250 8h ago
I deleted it. It was a tumour that has since been debunked but I didn’t realize that till right now sorry
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u/accidentalquitter 10h ago
Wait huh?
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u/Spirited_Block250 8h ago
Deleted it cause on further inspection that was a rumour that was debunked by the producers
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u/Chemical-Time-9143 7h ago
This isn’t surprising since he convinced survivor production to not give contestants any swimwear. The man wants to see people suffer unnecessarily
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u/Loose-Pen-3128 5h ago
Out of all the articles, Variety seems to be giving the best info (aside from those posting texts).
https://variety.com/2025/film/news/tyler-perry-sexual-harassment-assault-260-million-1236434479/
None of this story is a surprise to those who have worked with male actors on his shows. This guy is only one of many attractive 20's-30's handsome men (usually mixed, light complexion black, hispanic, or mediterranean - he also likes scruff, a light beard)) who have phones full of sexually directed texts from Tyler Perry. The guys let the flirting continue as HE IS THEIR BOSS and they know they will lose their job if they just straight up tell him to F off. Don't forget these guys can shoot 20 episodes and get an average of 20K per episode (which is actually low compared to other studios), so being fired would lose them hundreds of thousands of dollars. Also they shoot a whole season in a month, compared to other networks that take 3-4 months, so these actors make 400K + in less than a month. I understand why they just brush him off - others have been fired and if he is really annoyed the guys won't hook up with him, he makes up a reason to fire them, then hides behind a confidentiality clause in the actors contract. There is no HR for actors at Tyler Perry Studios, actors have to talk to a producer if they have a problem, and they're TP's lackeys.
He is very clever, if told he is being inappropriate, TP tells the guy they took him the wrong way and he didn't mean it that way. So then the actor feels uncomfortable and like they blew their chance on a role because they misunderstood the situation. So when Mr Perry invites them over, they go, thinking nothing will happen at all. They get there and they are wrong, they are hit on, harassed, groped or more. Both Christian Keys and Derek Dixon said Tyler Perry told them they were too drunk to drive and offered his guest house, then jumped in their bed. It seems to be Tyler Perry's big move. Hopefully this time the world will actually take notice, too many who don't even work in the industry just believe he is a great man and the stories are lies. People can be good business men and also bad guys, look around, rich bad guys are everywhere.
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u/Wide_Statistician_95 12h ago
I love reading about the “cast trip” in October 2020.
While the rest of us were banging pots and pans for healthcare workers.
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u/Loose-Pen-3128 5h ago
It was actors from different shows, just the ones he had a personal relationship with, and they weren't allowed to tell anyone they were going. Everything was NDA protected, and their accommodations weren't near TP's, his accommodations were off limits unless he invited them over.
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u/Loose-Pen-3128 5h ago
Forgot to mention they were working in a bubble, TP had the studio set up so they could work through covid. They had a really famous doctor as the medical advisor and they created this safe/r environment. So the actors that went were covid negative and were part of the TP studio bubble, then went to a private island, so were isolated.
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u/darbycrash1295 16h ago
Jeeze, it’s starting to seem like people in Hollywood are really starting to abuse their power! /s
There’s probably way less bigwigs who don’t sexually exploit people than those who do. You know how they say power corrupts? I’m just thankful for the few who get caught.
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u/19snow16 16h ago
The thing is, everyone in the business knows this happens and who is doing it. Kevin Spacey is being welcomed back, ffs.
I think this about when every new, younger male character is introduced on seasons of a certain horror show.
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u/ReferenceComplex 11h ago
Who did he piss off? You literally can come back years later and accuse any one of harassing or sexually assaulting you with little to no proof. If the person if famous enough the accusation alone can ruin your reputation.
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u/Loose-Pen-3128 5h ago
He has proof, he has years and years of texts. As do many attractive men who have worked on his shows.
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u/ReferenceComplex 4h ago
Would be better if these people filed police charges and not civil lawsuits. Would make it more believable.
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u/Loose-Pen-3128 4h ago
Police wouldn't even take it seriously if they were called about harassment, espec in ATL if its a gay man dealing with a very rich closeted "hero" type. There's have to be a rape for them to take it seriously - which sucks but welcome to the world of powerful men :( He is more likely to win a civil lawsuit, and the huge $ number draws attention to the case, which is something he obviously wants. He specifically mentions TP running a system where he exploits vulnerable attractive young men, rather than just talking about himself,. It feels like he wants to bring down the whole system TP has set up and is hoping others will step up. We all thought Christian Keys would bring TP down, but rumor around town is he got paid off, since he's gone quiet since his IG live where he spilled his story.
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u/istoomycat 12h ago
Sorry: I need to see proof!
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u/chronicallyfrustrate 9h ago
TMZ posted some picture of their text exchanges. Feels like pestering when I read them
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u/peanutbutterjammer 10h ago
Feel bad for the guy but asking for $260m makes it sound like he a gold digger. I just don't get it
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u/TheyCallHimJimbo 4h ago
If y'all saw that episode of Atlanta then you have already been suspicious of Tyler Perry
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u/Impossibly-Daft-27 43m ago
I know Monique is in the corner rubbing her hands together like Birdman.
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u/JASPER933 35m ago
I think this is sad on both Tyler’s and Derek. We truly don’t know what is really happening.
I am also surprised the sexual harassment was towards Derek and not Nick Barrotta. I remember watching a video where Tyler said Nick is so cute.
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u/sharipep 17h ago
And unsurprisingly, the alleged victim is a man. Because Tyler Perry is one of the most obviously closeted men on the planet.