Actor Derek Dixon opens up about his $260M lawsuit against Tyler Perry, alleging harassment on set, while Perry’s team calls it a scam.
Derek Dixon, an actor who worked on Tyler Perry’s shows The Oval and Ruthless, is speaking out about why he’s suing the filmmaker for $260 million in damages.
In his first TV interview since filing the lawsuit in June, Dixon told ABC News on Sept. 9 that part of the massive figure covers lost income and career opportunities, while the rest is meant to act as a deterrent. “Part of that number is my lost job, my lost income, the loss of a show,” he explained.
“The other part of that is a deterrent for how do you stop a billionaire who won’t stop themselves from doing this.”
Dixon, who says he first met Perry in 2019, played Dale on the BET series between 2021 and 2025. He alleges that during that time, Perry sexually harassed and assaulted him. Perry, 55, has strongly denied the claims through his attorney Matthew Boyd, who told PEOPLE: “This is an individual who got close to Tyler Perry for what now appears to be nothing more than setting up a scam.
But Tyler will not be shaken down and we are confident these fabricated claims of harassment will fail.”
The actor admitted that coming forward hasn’t been easy. “It’s been hard. It’s a vulnerable thing to talk about,” Dixon shared. “There’s a lot of shame, I think, around it… just trying to think what you could have done better and having to deal with the judgment of what everyone might think.”
Back in July, Dixon told The Hollywood Reporter that filing the lawsuit has been “terrifying,” but he felt he couldn’t stay silent. “Everyone deserves to go to work and do their job without their boss trying to have sex with them,” he said.
“My goal is to help ensure that the next generation of actors and creatives don’t have to choose between their dreams and their dignity.”
Dixon is seeking a jury trial as part of the $260 million suit. Perry has yet to comment personally, but his legal team insists the allegations won’t stand.
