Who is Derek Dixon and who did he play on The Oval? Tyler Perry allegations and lawsuit explained

Derek Dixon, who played Dale on the Tyler Perry-produced political drama, The Oval, has sued the latter over alleged sexual harassment and sexual assault. Filed on June 13 with the Superior Court of California in Los Angeles, Dixon demanded $260 million in damages and legal expenses.

The Independent obtained the court complaint, where Derek claimed the harassment and assault spanned over a few years since he first met Tyler in September 2019. Derek worked for an event company at the time, which was hired to put together a party for Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta.

Tyler reportedly asked Derek Dixon for his number after noticing him at the gathering and offered him a role. Soon, Derek was cast in The Oval's spin-off Ruthless, where he appeared in two episodes. His character, Dale, later joined the main series, where Derek appeared in over 80 episodes.

Per Soap Opera News, Derek was born Derek Alexander Dixon in North Carolina. He reportedly attended Marymount Manhattan College and later went to the Terry Schreiber Studio in New York City.

Derek's performance credits include the plays Romeo and Juliet, The Lion in Winter, and The Boys In The Band. He also took on the author's role for several plays, including Pictures of People, Green Light, Red Snow, Work of Art, and Homewrecker.

Derek Dixon was one of the winners of the 2016 Essential Theatre Playwriting Award for his work, When Things Are Lost.

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Derek Dixon's allegations against Tyler Perry in the sexual assault lawsuit

According to Derek Dixon's lawsuit, Tyler Perry abused his power, success, and influence in the Hollywood industry "to create a coercive, sexually exploitative dynamic" with him.

Derek said shortly after he was offered a role in Ruthless, Tyler Perry invited him to his Atlanta residence. The actor claimed he fell asleep in Tyler's guest room after being intoxicated, and shortly after, the filmmaker got into the bed next to him and began touching him inappropriately.

In a separate 2021 incident, Derek alleged Tyler assaulted him again while he was at the latter's guest house. The actor said he locked himself inside a bathroom out of fear of getting r*ped by Tyler Perry.

Despite turning down Tyler's advances, Derek claimed Perry remained persistent in his approach. Derek Dixon also submitted screenshots of alleged textual exchanges between him and Tyler.

He said the Madea film franchise star would often send him sexually suggestive messages. Tyler also allegedly tried to convince Derek to sleep with him, which the latter dodged by saying he was not a sexual person.

Derek Dixon also accused Tyler Perry of subtly threatening him to ruin his career when he refused to reciprocate the producer's advances. The actor said Tyler initially offered to help him land his footing in the industry.

However, in one of the screenshots of their alleged conversation, Tyler's message implied he would make The Oval cast members think Derek landed his role in the show due to his personal relationship with him, and not because of his talent.

Dixon alleged that Tyler also wanted to make him dependent on him by offering to produce a show the actor wrote.

In another screenshot containing their alleged messages, Tyler Perry claimed his behavior towards Derek Dixon was caused by testosterone infusion.

Tyler Perry's lawyer, Matthew Boyd, called Derek Dixon's lawsuit a "scam" and his claims "fabricated". He alleged the actor voluntarily got close to Perry to subject him to a money-grubbing scheme.