Issues have been comparatively quiet since actor Derek Dixon filed a bombshell lawsuit towards leisure mogul Tyler Perry that alleged sexual harassment and assault. The story gained some traction inside Perry’s fanbase, with some questioning Dixon’s claims, however now the actor is breaking his silence on the matter and offering a bit extra context on what he alleges occurred to him whereas working underneath the favored Madea creator.
In a really detailed interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Dixon explains that making his $260 million lawsuit towards Perry public has been a “terrifying” expertise, however he felt the necessity to converse up as a result of, as he places it, “I could not simply let him get away with this.” Dixon’s lawsuit alleges that Perry made a number of sexual advances towards him, and even makes the allegation that the producer has a sample of exploiting the male performers who work on his productions.
“Everybody deserves to go to work and do their job with out their boss making an attempt to have intercourse with them. My aim is to assist be sure that the subsequent era of actors and creatives do not have to decide on between their goals and their dignity.”
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Dixon, who appeared in 85 episodes of Perry’s TV sequence The Oval between 2021 and 2025, says that he met the producer in 2019 in Atlanta when he was working as an occasion coordinator for Legendary Occasions. The get together was put collectively by Tyler Perry Studios, which led to, based on Dixon, Perry singling him out to get on stage so he may test the lighting on the occasion. The dialog then turned as to if Dixon was an actor, who on the time was solely dabbling within the occupation in theater in Atlanta. The encounter led to the pair exchanging numbers, with Perry contacting him the very subsequent day to ask him what his dream was and what he needed to do, by way of his profession.
The change led to Dixon auditioning for the function of Dale on Perry’s sequence Ruthless, which was a by-product of his present The Oval. Dixon obtained the small function, with the Straw director saying the half may develop into larger. Earlier than the growth of the function would happen, Dixon alleges that Perry started making strikes that had been lower than skilled, which stunned the actor, who’s an out homosexual man, as a result of he, “didn’t know that Perry was curious about males or that he was in search of a sexual relationship.” It needs to be famous that in this era, Perry introduced in December 2020 that he and his longtime girlfriend, Gelila Bekele, had been ending their relationship.
Derek Dixon Particulars an Alleged Sample of Harassment on the Palms of Tyler Perry
Dixon beforehand talked about in his lawsuit that in January 2020, Perry invited him to his residence in Georgia, the place they each drank alcohol. In accordance with Dixon, Perry insisted that he was too drunk to drive residence and inspired him to remain in his visitor home. Dixon then claims, as soon as he went to mattress, “Perry climbed into mattress with me and started rubbing my thigh. I instantly jumped away from bed and mentioned, ‘I am not that sexual’ and stood up till he left the room. I believed that my response made it clear that night time that I used to be not .”
Dixon claims that following the incident, Perry would name or textual content him each day, and it solely endured if he ignored his makes an attempt to pay money for him. After his texts went unanswered for days, Dixon says that is when he provided to develop his function of Dale and make him a recurring participant on the guardian present, The Oval. Dixon thought his character could be killed off on the finish of Ruthless, since he was shot 4 instances within the chest, however Perry mentioned if he did an excellent job, the character would doubtless survive, after which he mentioned one thing that Dixon alleges was very telling. He mentioned Perry shared, “No one offers him something. He offers and offers, no person ever offers again.” Dixon checked out this as a type of worry tactic, with the actor saying, “I bear in mind feeling my abdomen drop when he mentioned this. I knew that I could not piss him off or my character may simply simply keep useless.”
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In accordance with Dixon, as soon as he was given the information about his recurring character on The Oval, Perry’s texts and calls solely elevated. His lawsuit outlines that the conversations had been hardly ever skilled and at all times of a private nature, with Perry requesting that he ship footage after which getting aggravated if he did not accomplish that. Nevertheless, when COVID-19 hit and manufacturing on The Oval was halted, Perry informed Dixon to work on writing a comedy pilot, one thing he did, and mentioned that Perry discovered the pilot hilarious and needed to shoot it. Throughout this era, there have been spurts when there could be no inappropriate habits, making Dixon imagine he had lastly gotten the image, however quickly the texts continued, with the actor alleging he would ship messages about his physique and that he ought to “let somebody maintain you and make like to you.” The pilot by no means obtained picked up.
Dixon goes on to debate an escalating stage of alleged harassment, with the actor believing that he was about to be raped throughout one incident at Perry’s home, When trying to sleep within the visitor home, Perry allegedly pulled down Dixon’s underwear and groped him after asking for a hug. The previous The Oval actor mentioned, “I informed him ‘No,’ ‘Cease,’ and ‘I do not need this,’ however he wasn’t stopping. He simply informed me to loosen up and let it occur and that he wasn’t going to harm me.” Dixon says he stopped that encounter by telling Perry he could not carry out sexually until he ate first, which led to the mogul being despatched for pizza. Dixon alleges that they ate the pizza in the lounge, after which he went again to the visitor home and locked himself within the rest room, the place he fell asleep on the ground.
By June 2024, Dixon filed a sexual harassment criticism with the Equal Employment Alternative Fee and stop his job on The Oval. The actor claims he was anticipated to make $400,000 throughout his ultimate season of the present, as he was underneath contract, however he felt his dignity was extra essential. The actor mentioned:
“I used to be an worker, and he was my boss. The truth that I am an actor would not make me any much less an worker. For a very long time, I satisfied myself that it was a part of the business, or that someway I needed to settle for it to maintain working. However ultimately, I could not keep silent anymore.”
Despite the fact that Dixon says responses to his lawsuit have been blended, with the actor claiming he has acquired a number of on-line threats, he claims he has additionally spoken to others who’ve related tales about Perry. There is a sign that these different encounters contain males as a result of Dixon went on to say, “That is why folks, particularly males, do not come ahead,” in terms of making sexual harassment claims.
Supply: The Hollywood Reporter
Observe: When you or somebody you recognize has been sexually assaulted, please contact the Nationwide Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.