Tyler Perry’s Sexual Assault Accuser Explains $260 Million Lawsuit

Derek Dixon, who filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Tyler Perry in June, explained why he’s suing the filmmaker for $260 million in damages.

“Part of that number is my lost job, my lost income, the loss of a show,” Dixon told ABC News on Tuesday, Sept. 9, in his first television interview since filing the lawsuit. “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 appeared in The Oval and Ruthless as Dale between 2021 and 2025, claims he first met Perry, 55, in 2019.

Matthew Boyd, an attorney for Tyler Perry and TPS Production Services, slammed the allegations in a statement to PEOPLE.

“This is an individual who got close to Tyler Perry for what now appears to be nothing more than setting up a scam,” Boyd said. “But Tyler will not be shaken down and we are confident these fabricated claims of harassment will fail.”

When asked about how he feels about filing the lawsuit and making the allegations, Dixon told ABC News’ Linsey Davis, “It’s been hard. It’s a vulnerable thing to talk about, I think, for anybody. There’s a lot of shame, I think, around it.”

Dixon elaborated, “Just trying to think what you could have done better and having to deal with the judgment of what, you know, everyone might think of how you could have handled it better without being in that situation.”

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In July, Dixon opened up to The Hollywood Reporter in an email interview and said that bringing this lawsuit against the entertainment mogul has been “terrifying” but that he “couldn’t just let him get away with this.”

“Everyone deserves to go to work and do their job without their boss trying to have sex with them,” Dixon 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.”

In the $260 million lawsuit, Dixon is requesting a jury trial.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.