Tyler Perry is once again at the center of serious allegations — this time facing a $77 million sexual assault lawsuit filed by aspiring actor Mario Rodriguez. And if the names and legal arguments sound familiar, that’s because they are. Rodriguez is being represented by the same attorney who’s already going head-to-head with Perry in a separate, high-profile case.
Rodriguez, a model who appeared as “Frat Guy #10” in Perry’s 2016 film “Boo! A Madea Halloween”, alleges that his role in the movie came with strings — including alleged unwanted sexual advances from Perry that he says began as early as 2015.
In a complaint filed this December, Rodriguez claims Perry invited him to his home under the guise of discussing professional projects, only to allegedly assault him and make repeated advances. According to the lawsuit, Perry grabbed him during one encounter, telling him to “let it happen” and promising that “if you were to just be with me, I would take care of you.”
Rodriguez says he tried to put distance between himself and the powerful media mogul, but the communication allegedly continued through 2024.
In a moment that feels ripped straight from a dramatic series, the suit claims Perry texted Rodriguez when he learned a lawsuit was imminent, saying he felt “betrayed” after all he had done to “help” him.
Tyler Perry’s legal team isn’t pulling punches either. His attorney Alex Spiro dismissed the case as a “failed money grab” brought forward by a lawyer who, in his words, “recently failed in another matter against Mr. Perry.” But that other case — brought by actor Derek Dixon, who filed a jaw-dropping $260 million lawsuit this summer — hasn’t gone away. It’s just been moved from California to Georgia, according to Rodriguez’s lawyer Jonathan Delshad. Delshad insists both sets of claims are active and ongoing.
As the legal saga unfolds, Rodriguez has taken to social media, sharing an emotional Instagram video where he opens up about fear and shame keeping him silent for years. Without naming Perry, he referred to a “powerful director that everybody knows” and apologized to “whoever this may have happened to” after him, saying, “It could’ve stopped with me.”
These allegations arrive just months after Perry publicly denied the accusations made by Dixon, calling them exploitative and part of a calculated scheme.
Back in September, another of Perry’s attorneys referred to Dixon as someone who got close to the filmmaker “for what now appears to be nothing more than setting up a scam.”
Whether this is a long-overdue reckoning or an orchestrated legal campaign aimed at extracting massive payouts remains to be seen. But one thing is clear: the Tyler Perry brand, long built on morality plays and rags-to-riches success, is facing real-world drama with some very high stakes.
