Tyler Perry calls Derek Dixon assault allegations profoundly disappointing” and claims to have had only a platonic relationship

Tyler Perry, accused of sexual assault by Derek Dixon, testified in court stating that his alleged victim's lawsuit was "profoundly disappointing, cynical and, most of all — false." Perry had filed a countersuit on October 1, challenging Dixon's suit that seeks $260 million in damages from the Zatima creator. The lawsuit also targets his production company, Very Perry Productions, LLC (under the name Tyler Perry Studios).

According to an exclusive report by US Weekly Magazine, Perry questioned the motive behind Dixon's suit and claimed his acts of "platonic friendship and professional mentorship" were "turned sinister" by his victim.

Tyler Perry's filing states,

“Dixon invents alleged assaults and encounters that never happened. Mr. Perry never assaulted Dixon or committed any sexual battery. He did not offer Dixon pay raises and shoot Dixon’s television pilot script to threaten, coerce, or control Dixon.”

Perry's lawyer, Matthew Boyd, further stated:

“It is notable that in his effort to exploit his friendship and professional relationship with Mr. Perry to obtain a $260 million payday, Dixon was forced to lie not only about Mr. Perry, but himself too.

Timelines and allegation: The Tyler Perry - Derek Dixon case

Derek Dixon first came out with his allegations of sexual assault against Tyler Perry in June. Dixon revealed he had first met Perry at a studio opening party in 2019, where Perry asked him whether or not he was an actor and handed him his phone number.

Subsequently, in early 2020, Dixon was cast as "Dale" in BET's hit show The Oval, an opportunity that helped him gain wider recognition in Hollywood. However, he later claimed Perry started sending him risqué text messages, which soon became very sexual in nature.

In a statement to ABC News at the time, Perry's lawyer had said,

“This is an individual who got close to Tyler Perry for what now appears to be nothing more than setting up a scam.”

In the civil suit filed by Dixon, he detailed the incident further, stating he was sexually assaulted in the director's Atlanta home.

Later next month, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Derek claimed there were "attempts" to resolve the case privately:

“There are always attempts to resolve situations like this privately, but they never result in the type of change necessary to protect further victims. At the end of the day my absolute fear is that he will be able to continue doing this without any major consequences.”

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Perry's legal team has further alleged that Dixon filed the lawsuit not because of something that Perry "did" but because of what he "did not do." His legal team believes Perry's inability to sell Dixon's television pilot to Netflix resulted in him filing a sexual misconduct suit.

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