‘I Couldn’t Stay Silent Anymore’: Actor Derek Dixon Breaks Silence in First On-Camera Interview Amid $260M Lawsuit Against Tyler Perry
In his first televised interview since initiating a lawsuit, actor Derek Dixon, who filed a $260 million claim against media titan Tyler Perry in June, spoke candidly about the emotional toll of coming forward. The interview, conducted by ABC News Live anchor Linsey Davis, marked a deeply personal confrontation with shame, fear, and judgment.
“I wanted to speak out and not stay silent about it anymore,” Dixon said, acknowledging the vulnerability and heavy burden of going public.
Dixon, who appeared on Perry’s BET series The Oval and Ruthless, originally alleged that Perry exploited his influence by offering career opportunities in exchange for sexual favors—a coercive environment revealed in detailed legal filings.
In the interview, he described the weight of shame and retrospective self-blame: “It’s been hard … Just trying to think what you could have done better and having to deal with the judgment of how you could’ve ended it better without being in that situation”.
Perry’s attorney, Matthew Boyd, has denied the allegations, branding them as a “scam” and stating that Perry will not be “shaken down”.