Tyler Perry accuser Derek Dixon explains why he came forward with allegations

"At the end of the day my absolute fear is that he will be able to continue doing this without any major consequences."

By Mary Kate Carr | July 11, 2025 | 12:41pm

Screenshot: Sherri/YouTube

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Tyler Perry accuser Derek Dixon explains why he came forward with allegations

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Tyler Perry accuser Derek Dixon came forward with his allegations because “I couldn’t just let him get away with this,” he says in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “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.”

Dixon has filed a lawsuit against Perry alleging sexual harassment and assault. He tells THR that Perry first singled him out when Dixon was working as an event coordinator in Atlanta and organized a party for Tyler Perry Studios. The connection led to an audition for The Oval spin-off Ruthless, landing a role which would eventually become a recurring spot on the flagship series. But Dixon claims that this good fortune came with unwanted attention, including incessant, inappropriate personal text messages (Per THR, the legal complaint includes texts from Perry commenting on Dixon’s “thick” body, asking “Why do you twist your hips when you walk?”, noting that Dixon “liked being choked” after shooting a choking scene on the show, and telling Dixon he needed to “let someone hold you and make love to you”).

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Dixon recounts multiple instances where Perry crossed physical boundaries, once even getting into Dixon’s bed uninvited when the actor was staying in Perry’s guest house. Dixon says he attempted to defuse the situation by saying he wasn’t looking for a sexual relationship, a situation that would repeat multiple times over the next few years. But he maintained a friendly relationship with Perry and continued to accept invitations because of Perry’s power over his career, including a promise to shoot a comedy pilot that Dixon had written.

In 2021, Dixon says Perry assaulted him at Perry’s home, in a situation where Dixon believed he was going to be raped. Perry “forcefully pulled down my underwear and groped my bare ass,” Dixon recalls, adding “When I tried to pull my underwear back up, he grabbed my wrists to keep me from putting them back on. I couldn’t believe what was happening.” Dixon says he managed to deescalate the situation, but was shaken; however, he “was too afraid to come forward” about it because of his career, particularly after a TPS coworker reminded him what was at stake. “I knew it would be awful. And I was right.”

Dixon eventually moved away from Atlanta to put distance between himself and Perry, ultimately quitting and filing a sexual harassment complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 2024. In a statement to THR, a lawyer for Perry describes Dixon as an “individual who got close to Tyler Perry for what now appears to be nothing more than setting up a scam,” adding, “Tyler will not be shaken down and we are confident these fabricated claims of harassment will fail.”

“I was an employee, and he was my boss,” Dixon says tells THR. “The fact that I’m an actor doesn’t make me any less an employee. For a long time, I convinced myself that it was part of the industry, or that somehow I had to accept it to keep working. But eventually, I couldn’t stay silent anymore.” You can read the full interview here.