Tyler Perry is speaking out in response to the latest sexual battery lawsuit lobbed against him by an actor. And this time around, he’s bringing receipts to back up his side of the story!
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If you missed this story, let us be the first to give you a quick run down. Just after the Christmas holiday, news broke that the Hollywood mogul was being sued by an actor who starred in “Boo! A Madea Halloween” in 2016. Per PEOPLE, Mario Rodriguez claimed Perry sexually assaulted him and made several unwanted sexual advanced towards him while they were working together and is now seeking $77 million in damages. He’s being represented by the same lawyer representing Derek Dixon, another actor who sued Perry over similar allegations in June 2025.
In Rodriguez’s case however, he claimed that on multiple occasions when he would be invited over to Perry’s house under the guise of working on a project, the “Madea” star would make sexual advances towards him including allegedly grabbing his private parts and urging Rodriguez to “let it happen.” After this incident happened for the second time, Perry allegedly paid Rodriguez $5,000 and apologized.
One last incident happened in April 2019 but contact between the two ceased until some time in 2024 when Perry allegedly randomly reached out to Rodriguez and then reached out again after getting wind that he was about to file a suit. Per the actor, he claimed that the “Why Did I Get Married?” director told him he felt “betrayed” by the news on the account of him doing “so much to help.”
While Rodriguez has since spoken out about the suit and Perry indirectly via an Instagram video, the director himself is now adding his two cents to the conversation. Per his lawyer Alex Spiro, they claim that this new lawsuit is just a “money grab scam” and that this is just another attempt by the lawyer to try to get some coins after the Dixon lawsuit “recently failed.”
“Having recently failed in another matter against Mr. Perry, the very same lawyer has now made yet another demand from more than a decade ago which will also be a failed money grab,” Spiro told PEOPLE when the news of the suit first dropped.
What’s more is that Perry’s legal team has now also provided alleged texts and messages between Rodriguez and Perry that shine a different light on their working dynamic.
In texts from around Thanksgiving 2024 as obtained by TMZ on Monday, Rodriguez allegedly thanks Perry for his help and getting him out of some bad places.
“Just know that I love you and I thank you for everything. I appreciate you to the moon. You got my Mexican ass out of a lot of bad places and I just wanna tell you thank you,” he allegedly wrote.
He then went on to say that while he couldn’t get Perry anything, he wanted to express his appreciation and told the director that there was “nothing I wouldn’t do for you.”
Perry’s alleged response? “Happy Thanksgiving my friend. Yeap you’ve been through it. I’m glad you’re doing well. You don’t have to give me a thing or pay me a thing. I’m just glad you’re good.”
In another bout of texts from August 2025, Rodriguez allegedly hit Perry up, telling him that he was struggling to pay his bills, experiencing dental issues and having no health insurance, and not feeling too well. Perry’s response wasn’t shown in that text.
In light of the texts release, Spiro additionally told PEOPLE on Monday, “I said it before and I will say it again. This is nothing but a 77 million dollar money grab scam.”
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