Who is Derek Dixon?

Dixon is an actor and playwright originally from Raleigh, North Carolina. He is best known for his ongoing role as Dale in Tyler Perry’s The Oval, which first premiered on the network in October 2019, according to Comingsoon.net. He worked with Perry for several years and appeared in more than 100 episodes of Tyler Perry’s The Oval.

Dixon originally met the acclaimed director and filmmaker in 2019 at a party hosted by an events company he was working for at the time. Following their meeting, Dixon was cast in two episodes of BET+’s Tyler Perry’s Ruthless, according to TMZ.

In addition to acting, Dixon has a well-rounded background in theater. He studied at Marymount Manhattan College and trained at The Terry Schreiber Studio in New York. A co-winner of the 2016 Essential Theatre Playwriting Award, Dixon has written several plays, including Homewrecker, Red Snow, Pictures of People, Work of Art, and Green Light. He has also performed in stage productions such as The Lion in Winter, Romeo and Juliet, and The Boys in the Band, according to Essential Theatre.

What are the allegations against Perry?

After the party where they first met, Dixon claims in his lawsuit that Perry occasionally sent suggestive messages, saying he wanted to find Dixon a job and change his life, Blavity reported.

Dixon said things escalated after visiting Perry’s home in 2020. Hoping the visit would advance his acting career, he recalled drinking too much and attempting to sleep it off in a guest room. He claimed that during the night, Perry came into the room, got inside the bed with him and began touching his thighs, according to the suit.

Although Dixon turned down Perry’s advances, he said it didn’t hinder their work relationship, per Blavity.

The allegations that Derek Dixon is making, explained

Dixon claims Perry sent him sexually suggestive messages and made unwanted advances during visits to Perry’s home in 2020 and 2021.

He said he feared losing his job, so Dixon avoided directly rejecting Perry. Despite this, Perry allegedly continued the behavior, including inappropriate touching and explicit remarks.

Dixon later resigned from The Oval in 2024 due to what he had gone through with Perry. In his suit, Dixon is alleging quid pro quo and workplace sexual harassment, sexual assault, sexual battery and more, and is demanding $260 million in damages.

“This is an individual who got close to Tyler Perry for what now appears to be nothing more than a scam. But Tyler will not be shaken down, and we are confident these fabricated claims of harassment will fail,” Perry’s attorney, Matthew Boyd, told TMZ.