In The Oval actor Derek Dixon's lawsuit accusing Tyler Perry of sexual harassment and misconduct, he detailed a series of alleged exchanges with the filmmaker-actor-producer.
In legal documents reviewed by Complex, Perry allegedly texted Dixon about "killing a mother fucker in a show that no one expects," referring to the season finale for The Oval.
Dixon said that he became an object of "sexual desire" for Perry from the time he was cast on the series and shared other alleged texts that became increasingly "flirtatious." In one text, Perry allegedly told Dixon that he was "jealous" of him taking a walk with another man.
"What's it going to take for you to have guiltless sex? Have y'all found that yet in therapy?" Perry allegedly wrote in one message. Dixon suggested that he had "religious guilt," which Perry appeared to dismiss.
In another exchange, Perry allegedly said that he was drinking and was annoyed that Dixon was apparently avoiding him.
"Dixon did his best to tiptoe around Mr. Perry’s sexual aggression while keeping on Mr. Perry’s good side," the lawsuit claims. "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."
In one alleged text exchange included in the complaint, Perry shared a photo of himself posing next to a jet ski in shallow water during a visit to the Bahamas.
"Nice picture!! Yeah the water does look calm," Dixon wrote. "Nice picture????" Perry responded. "GREAT AMAZING AWESOME PICTURE!!!" Dixon wrote.
"You don't see the stud in that 'nice picture,'" Perry allegedly continued. "RUDE." Dixon added, "Lol yess that's a stud," to which Perry allegedly wrote, "Asshole."
Dixon also alleged that Perry would send him "unsolicited photos" of Dixon's body during production of The Oval, referring to him as "thick" in multiple messages. Perry also allegedly wrote that he "would fuck" him.
"Perry continued to talk about how 'good-looking' and 'sexy' Dixon was, and that Plaintiff was 'wasting his looks' by not 'being free and having sex,'" the lawsuit reads.
"Perry started asking Dixon about Dixon’s sexual preferences, and what role Dixon took on when engaging in sexual acts (i.e. whether he was a top or bottom—which in sexual terms means whether Dixon preferred to give or receive anal sex)," the lawsuit continues. "Perry further indicated to Dixon that he had sex with men before and that 'he was a top.' Perry further told Dixon that 'when you have a big dick and when you hit the G-spot right on these bottoms, they go crazy.'"
The full lawsuit accuses Perry of sexually assaulting Dixon after the latter was cast on The Oval. Dixon claimed that in an early incident, Perry climbed into a bed with him without his consent and touched his thighs, an advance he rejected.
Perry's attorney, Matthew Boyd, has denied the allegations against his client.
"This is an individual who got close to Tyler Perry for what now appears to be nothing more than setting up a scam," said Boyd. "But Tyler will not be shaken down, and we are confident these fabricated claims of harassment will fail."