Mario Rodriguez, an actor who appeared in "Boo! A Madea Halloween," has filed a lawsuit against Tyler Perry, alleging the filmmaker subjected him to years of unwanted sexual advances and assaults at his Los Angeles home. This is the second such lawsuit in recent months, accusing Perry of leveraging his power in Hollywood to make sexual advances. Rodriguez is seeking at least $77 million in damages and has also sued Lionsgate, the studio that distributed the 2016 film, alleging they turned a blind eye to Perry's alleged misconduct.
In a statement, Perry's lawyer has denied the allegations. According to the complaint, Rodriguez was approached in 2014 by a trainer at an Equinox gym in Los Angeles who said Perry wanted his phone number to discuss an acting role. Perry later encouraged Rodriguez to audition for "Boo! A Madea Halloween," telling him, "I'm not a bad person to know and have in your corner." The lawsuit describes additional alleged incidents in 2016, 2018, and 2019, including one encounter in which Perry allegedly attempted to unbuckle Rodriguez's pants and another in which Perry placed Rodriguez's hand on his genitals. The complaint says Perry gave Rodriguez $5,000 on multiple occasions following the encounters.
Rodriguez says he resisted the advances and ultimately decided to file suit after learning of similar allegations made by another actor, Derek Dixon. Dixon sued Perry in June, alleging the filmmaker groped him while Dixon worked on Perry's television series "The Oval" and "Ruthless." That lawsuit, which was originally filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, has reportedly since been moved to federal court in Georgia, where Perry's studio is based. Rodriguez's lawsuit includes claims of sexual assault, sexual battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress, making the scenario all the more chilling and urgent.
