Tyler Perry Sued For $77M In Sexual Assault Case, Lawyer Refutes

A splashy $77 million sexual assault and battery lawsuit against Tyler Perry, filed by the same lawyer who brought a similar suit earlier this year, is just more of the same in search of a payout, the “betrayed” claims. Madea the star’s high-profile lawyer.

“After recently failing in another case against Mr. Perry, the same attorney has now made a new request from over a decade ago that will also be a failed cash grab,” Alex Spiro said today of Mario Rodriguez’s claims against Perry and his jury trial. “Boo! A Halloween Madea distributor Lionsgate.

Spiro, who has successfully replaced Alec Baldwin, Jay-Z and many celebrities over the years with a slugger’s approach, certainly presents the narrative of how he wants the Rodriguez case, represented by Jonathan Delshad, in Los Angeles Superior Court, to heat up.

There is no denying that Rodriguez’s suit is similar in tone and format to the ongoing $260 million sexual harassment and assault suit originally filed in June at LASC by Delshad for his client, The Oval actor Derek Dixon, against Perry. At the same time, there’s no denying that the 23-page complaint filed by Rodriguez on Dec. 25 is full of screenshots of potentially damning text messages, remarks about oral sex and other suggestive conversations from an allegedly predatory Perry. There are also seemingly cringe-worthy proclamations from the filmmaker like, “You know Mario, I’m not a bad person to know and have in your corner.” »

Focus on achieving Boo! and a number of subsequent meetings – such as a dinner in Beverly Hills on November 14, 2018 at Mastro’s Steakhouse to discuss potential roles for model Rodriguez that saw a John Cena cameo of sorts – the complaint is also full of graphic and specific details. “Mr. Perry reached into Mr. Rodriguez’s underwear and grabbed his penis,” the filing says of an alleged assault eight years ago. “Mr. Perry was making sexual moans and saying, ‘Stay here, stay here,’ as he pressed his body against Mr. Rodriguez and continued to grip his penis.”

To cap off this alleged incident, the filing claims that Perry “put $5,000.00 in Mr. Rodriguez’s pocket” while a slightly intoxicated Rodriguez waited for an Uber to take him home from Perry’s house. Other alleged attempts by Perry to offer Rodriguez financial security and on-screen roles for what the plaintiff considers sex continued into 2024.

Claiming “post-traumatic stress disorder…psychological, emotional and economic injuries” resulting from Perry’s alleged actions towards her, Rodriguez (who played a “very handsome student” in the 2016 film Boo!) and lawyer Delshad dragged Lionsgate into all of this.

Their argument is disarmingly simple, albeit with a strange misspelling of the studio’s name. “Lions Gate should have been aware of Perry’s misconduct, as Perry has had numerous such allegations against him in the past,” the complaint states. “Without Lions Gate’s failure to act and enforce its morals and other safeguards, the sexual assaults would not have occurred because Perry would not have been in a position of power.”

Lionsgate, as it is actually written, did not respond this evening to Deadline’s request for comment on the lawsuit and its place in it.

As for someone who responded, Spiro may be defending his client, but New York-based Quinn partner Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan isn’t completely off base with his strong statement. Rodriguez decided to follow up on his claims after a friend referring to Sean “Diddy” Combs texted him on June 18 with the news of Dixon’s case.

“Mr. Rodriguez realized that Mr. Perry continued to use his power and influence to sexually assault up-and-coming actors and, along with the voices of others, decided it was time to tell his story, seek justice and finally stop Mr. Perry,” this week’s filing states. “When Perry learned that Rodriguez was going to file this action, Perry again contacted Rodriguez via text message, telling Rodriguez that Perry had done so much to help Rodriguez and that (sic) Perry felt betrayed by Rodriguez,” the document adds.

Interestingly, with all the textual exchanges displayed in Rodriguez’s file, this one, potentially explosive, is not there to be seen.

Now, when it comes to Spiro’s criticism of Rodriguez via Delshad and the Dixon affair, the reality is more nuanced. For example, the case did not actually “fail,” as Spiro claims.

Delshad’s case against Perry for Dixon hasn’t exactly taken a dive, but it has taken an unconventional path through the legal system so far. Filed at LASC in June, the case was removed from California state court and transferred to federal court in the Golden State earlier this year. Dixon then requested that his case be referred to LASC. On Dec. 12, a federal judge ruled that Dixon had not proven he resided in the state and refused to return to state court. A consequence of Judge John Walker’s ruling was that Dixon’s case was subsequently moved to federal court in Georgia, Perry’s home base.

Sitting with Judge Sarah E. Geraghty in the Peach State over the last two weeks of this holiday season, Dixon’s case hasn’t seen much further progress. Which means, once Lady Justice picks up the pace and assuming there’s no settlement, 2026 could very likely see Tyler Perry fighting expensive sexual assault cases on both sides of the country.