Tyler Perry is asking a judge to throw out a lawsuit seeking $77 million, with his legal team arguing the claims are baseless and motivated by money.
Court filings obtained by our friends at TMZ show Perry strongly denying accusations made by model and actor Mario Rodriguez, who alleges the filmmaker made unwanted advances toward him. Perry’s attorneys contend the allegations “have no basis in fact or law and no merit.”
The dispute traces back to 2015 when Rodriguez says he first met Perry through a personal trainer who arranged an introduction. Rodriguez later appeared in a small role in the 2016 film Boo! A Madea Halloween. According to the lawsuit Rodriguez filed in December 2025, he claims Perry later began “aggressively pursuing” him and at one point allegedly groped him without consent.
Perry’s response presents a sharply different account. According to the court documents, the filmmaker says Rodriguez repeatedly sought financial help from him for various personal costs, including payments tied to his vehicle, apartment, medical care, and other outstanding bills.
Perry claims the relationship changed once he stopped providing financial support, alleging Rodriguez then began accusing him of misconduct after the financial assistance ended.
The case also comes after another accusation involving Perry surfaced in June 2025. Actor Derek Dixon, who appeared in the series The Oval, alleged a pattern of harassment dating back to a 2019 encounter at an event where the two exchanged phone numbers.
Dixon later claimed that during a visit to Perry’s Atlanta home he woke up in a guest room to find Perry in bed beside him touching his thighs. Dixon says he made it clear he was not interested, but alleges the behavior continued afterward.