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On June 20, 2025, American commentator Candace Owens shared insights on Tyler Perry amid allegations of sexual assault and harassment against him.
Derek Dixon, who portrayed Dale in Tyler's BET drama series The Oval for five seasons, filed a $260 million lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court on June 13, alleging repeated sexual assault and sexual harassment by Perry on the set of The Oval and Ruthless.
The lawsuit stated that Perry used his "success" and "power" along with his influence in the entertainment industry to create a "coercive, sexually exploitative dynamic" with Derek Dixon. It added that Perry initially promised Dixon growth in career opportunities, like "producing his pilot and casting him in his show," as reported by People magazine.
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However, when Dixon didn't return Perry's "unwanted advances," instead of the promised opportunities, Dixon was subjected to "sexual harassment, assault, and battery."
Reflecting on Dixon's lawsuit, Candace Owens revealed that she wasn't shocked by claims about Tyler Perry's sexuality. When her former co-worker expressed surprise about Perry allegedly being gay due to the allegations, Candace thought,
"Wait there are people that think Tyler Perry is straight?"
Owens expressed that due to her early exposure to Perry's work, particularly his portrayal of Madea, an elderly African-American black woman, she always thought that Tyler was gay.
"I grew up when he was doing Madea, and we used to go to the salon, and they used to sell media bootlegs, and that's how I knew Tyler Perry. I knew Tyler Perry as crossdressing as a woman, fantastic plays that he was doing, hilarious, and I never in a million years thought like, I just always thought he was gay or thought that he was openly gay," Owens said.
Derek Dixon alleged that Tyler Perry used his "influence" to provide "vulnerable men" with acting jobs
Furthermore, in his lawsuit, Derek Dixon alleged that Tyler Perry took advantage of his power to exploit "vulnerable" men and provide them with acting positions, roles, show contracts, cars, and money, as reported by USA Today.
"Once the object of his desire was hooked, Tyler Perry would then put them in fear of losing it all unless they engaged in Mr. Perry’s perverted desire for sexual gratification," Dixon's lawsuit stated.
The lawsuit added that Perry would remove characters in the show if they failed to comply with his "sexual fantasies."
"Fearing that his career would end before it began, Dixon put up with these comments and continued to maintain that he was not the sexual type."
The lawsuit claimed that Dixon met Perry in September 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia, while working on the opening of Tyler's Studios. Perry texted Dixon over the following months before inviting him to his home in January 2020.
According to the lawsuit, both men consumed alcohol that evening, and Perry urged Dixon to stay in a guest room. Dixon agreed, "not knowing that this was a ruse to allow Perry to assault Dixon."
The lawsuit added that as Dixon was tired that evening, he went to bed without his pajamas, "only wearing underwear," and before he knew it, Perry allegedly came to his bed and started rubbing his body "around his inner thigh in a highly sexual and suggestive manner."
"Dixon kept informing Perry that he was not into sex in order to keep Perry at bay while at the same time not insulting the person who was dangling his career in front of him," the suit says.
It further mentioned multiple occasions of sexual assault, including one instance when Perry allegedly "forcibly pulled off Mr Dixon’s clothing, groped his buttocks, and attempted to force himself on Dixon."
"Mr. Perry made it clear to Dixon that if Dixon ignored Perry or failed to engage with the sexual innuendos, Dixon's character would 'die' in the next season. Indeed, Dixon's character 'Dale' was shot four times in the chest at the end of his first season on 'The Oval,' and Perry always held this over Mr. Dixon's head, implying that 'Dale' would survive if Dixon kept Perry 'happy.'"
Meanwhile, in a statement, the 55-year-old actor's attorney, Matthew Boyd, responded to Dixon's lawsuit, calling it 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 added.
Born on September 13, 1969, Tyler Perry has a 10-year-old son with ex-girlfriend Gelila Bekele. The former couple separated in 2020 and co-parent Aman.
