Tyler Perry’s Male Sexual Assault Accuser Breaks Silence in First Interview: ‘I Couldn't Stay Silent Anymore,’ Claims Actor Derek Dixon
Tyler Perry’s sexual assault accuser has spoken out for the first time since filing his lawsuit.
July 11 2025, Published 4:00 p.m. ET
Tyler Perry’s sexual assault accuser has broken his silence in his first interview since filing a $260million lawsuit against the Madea mastermind, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Actor Derek Dixon confessed the legal process has been “terrifying,” but he “couldn’t just let him get away with this.”
Dixon accused Perry of pinning him against a wall and groping him.
Dixon filed the lawsuit against the entertainment mogul on June 13 in Los Angeles Superior Court, in which he alleged Perry made several sexual advances towards him while he was working on the producer’s BET series The Oval.
In one alleged incident, Dixon claimed Perry pinned him against a wall and groped him. Another alleged the billionaire snuck into his bed.
The actor further claimed Perry wielded his status and power over other male actors to exploit them and harass others in the industry.
Dixon said his ‘goal' is to ensure creatives ‘don’t have to choose between their dreams and their dignity.’
Now, Dixon has opened up for the first time about his lawsuit and his “goal” for bringing legal action against the Diary of a Mad Black Woman star.
He reportedly said: “Everyone deserves to go to work and do their job without their boss trying to have sex with them.
“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 recalled first meeting Perry in 2019, when he worked as an event coordinator for Legacy Events, which organized the opening party for Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta.
Dixon said a 'false sense of security’ was created when Perry did not make advances toward him.
The Oval actor claimed Perry zeroed in on him in the crowd of crew and staff and personally invited him on stage to check out the lighting.
Then, Perry allegedly began asking Dixon if he were an actor, to which Dixon explained he was starring in some productions here and there in Atlanta but was not working in the industry full-time. The two exchanged numbers after the event.
Dixon said Perry texted him the following day, asking: “So who are you? What’s the dream? What do you want to do?”
Their conversation resulted in Perry offering Dixon an audition for his series Ruthless, which he was ultimately cast in.
Dixon said he let his 'gratefulness’ for how Perry helped his career 'cloud my self-respect.’
According to his lawsuit, Dixon, an openly gay man, said at the time he “did not know that Perry was interested in men or that he was looking for a sexual relationship.”
A year later, Perry announced his split from Gelila Bekele, his longtime girlfriend and the mother of his 10-year-old son.
The actor noted: “I’m not going to speak for him on how he identifies sexually.
“Regardless of his sexual orientation or gender, he should not be speaking to any of his employees, whether they be men or women, gay, straight or bisexual about their sexual preferences, how often they’re having sex and physically assaulting them.”
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Dixon later noted: “There were times when I was around him and nothing would happen. So I thought he got the picture, and that created a false sense of security.”
He said he believed Perry’s power in the industry coupled with his own excitement about his career caused him to look past red flags, adding: “I now realize I let my gratefulness for what he’d done for me cloud my self-respect.”
