Filmmaker and media mogul Tyler Perry is facing a $260 million lawsuit filed by actor Derek Dixon, who alleges a pattern of sexual harassment, assault, and professional retaliation. Perry has strongly denied the allegations.

The civil complaint was filed on June 13 in Georgia by Dixon, who portrays the character Dale in Perry’s BET series The Oval. In the filing, Dixon accuses Perry of quid pro quo harassment, workplace misconduct, and retaliation, claiming the producer used promises of career advancement to coerce and manipulate him.

According to the lawsuit, Dixon and Perry first met in 2019 during an event organized to celebrate the opening of Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta. Dixon, working at the event through a contracted company, alleges that frequent interactions with Perry led to an exchange of phone numbers and a series of messages from the filmmaker that became “strange and inappropriate.”

The complaint alleges that Perry later cast Dixon in his series Ruthless and invited him to his Douglasville County home in January 2020. There, following drinks and conversation, Perry allegedly encouraged Dixon to stay overnight and then assaulted him. Afterward, the lawsuit claims Perry’s texts became aggressive when Dixon tried to avoid further contact. Eventually, Perry offered him a role on The Oval, which Dixon claims he accepted under pressure to maintain his career.

“Dixon immediately understood that his job security depended on his ‘relationship’ with Perry,” the complaint states, describing a workplace environment in which Dixon says he endured continued harassment out of fear of losing his role.

One incident cited in the lawsuit allegedly occurred in Perry’s on-set trailer following the filming of a dramatic scene in which Dixon’s character was shot. Another alleged incident took place during a cast party on Perry’s private island in the Bahamas. The filing also details a final alleged assault during a June 2021 meeting to discuss a pilot for a show Dixon had written, titled Losing It.

According to the lawsuit, Dixon’s mental and physical health deteriorated due to the ongoing harassment. By early 2023, he had relocated to California in an attempt to distance himself from Perry. However, the suit claims Perry continued to make professional promises, including offers to produce Losing It, in what Dixon believes were attempts to silence him.

In response, Perry’s attorney Matthew Boyd called the lawsuit a fabrication designed to extort the filmmaker. “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,” Boyd said in a statement.

Dixon’s legal team declined to provide additional comment, stating only, “We believe the complaint speaks for itself.”

As of now, no criminal charges have been filed, and the civil case is expected to proceed through the Georgia court system.