Tyler Perry $77M lawsuit: What does complainant Mario Rodriguez allege? Sexual assault allegations and more

Tyler Perry is facing a $77 million sexual assault lawsuit by an actor, Mario Rodriguez, who starred in Perry's 2016 film Boo! A Madea Halloween.

Published on: Dec 27, 2025, 07:44:40 IST

By Shirin Gupta

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Tyler Perry is facing a $77 million sexual assault lawsuit by an actor, Mario Rodriguez, who starred in Perry's 2016 film Boo! A Madea Halloween. The complaint, filed in a California state court, alleges unwanted sexual advances that span multiple years and settings. It also alleges sexual battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Tyler Perry $77M lawsuit: What does complainant Mario Rodriguez allege? (Photo by Michael Tran / AFP) (AFP)

This lawsuit is the second one against Perry, which states that Perry uses his power in Hollywood to gain sexual favors and advances.

What does the lawsuit allege?

The complaint states that Rodriguez was first approached in a gym in 2014. A gym trainer in Los Angeles Equinox gym told him that Perry requested his phone number to talk about an acting position.

Perry later encouraged Rodriguez to audition for ‘Boo! A Madea Halloween.’ According to the lawsuit, he told him, “I’m not a bad person to know and have in your corner.”

Rodriguez was brought to Perry's house after he was cast, and while they were watching a movie, Perry allegedly grabbed him improperly.

The lawsuit alleges several instances spanning 2016, 2018 and 2019 in which Perry made unwanted advances towards Rodriguez. In one of the encounters, Perry allegedly tried to unbuckle Rodriguez's pants and another in which Perry put Rodriguez's hand on his genitals. According to the complaint, Perry repeatedly provided Rodriguez $5,000 after the sessions.

Rodriguez asserts that he resisted every advance and ultimately decided to file suit after hearing about similar allegations by another actor, Derek Dixon.

Dixon filed a separate lawsuit against Perry earlier in 2025, alleging sexual harassment and assault on the sets of Perry’s TV productions The Oval and Ruthless.

Rodriguez has also named Lionsgate in the lawsuit. He has accused the studio of continuing to fund projects despite being aware of Perry's misconduct.

Perry’s lawyer has denied the allegations, and at the time of reporting, Lionsgate has not issued a public response to requests for comment

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shirin Gupta
Shirin Gupta is a content producer with the Hindustan Times. She covers everything between politics, entertainment and sports at the US desk. Shirin got interested in political journalism during her time as a web editor at her college newspaper NCC News in Syracuse when she first started seeing the effects of national politics in life of her fellow colleagues. Shirin has worked on a wide range of fast-moving and developing stories locally when she was at NCC editing accessible reports for the audience. Her current role requires her to track real-time updates, verify information and present balanced coverage across diverse beats. Covering US politics from an international newsroom perspective has further deepened her understanding of how domestic decisions can have far-reaching global consequences. With a keen interest in international affairs, Shirin continues to build her expertise in geopolitics, policy shifts, and cross-border developments. She aims to learn and evolve her reporting in matters of geopolitics and international issues. Outside the newsroom Shirin writes about books and music for her personal blog. She is an avid consumer of pop culture and reveres literature.Read More

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