‘Failed money grab’: Tyler Perry faces new sexual assault lawsuit from aspiring actor

A model who appeared in Boo! A Madea Halloween is seeking $77 million in damages, while Perry’s legal team dismisses the case as a long-delayed cash grab.

Tyler Perry is facing a new sexual assault lawsuit from an aspiring actor, the second such case brought against the filmmaker this year and one his legal team says is nothing more than a “failed money grab.”

Mario Rodriguez, a model who landed a minor role in Perry’s 2016 film Boo! A Madea Halloween filed the lawsuit seeking $77 million in damages. In the complaint, Rodriguez describes a series of encounters he says began with professional promises and escalated into unwanted sexual advances.

Rodriguez is represented by attorney Jonathan J. Delshad, who also represents Derek Dixon, another actor who filed a separate lawsuit against Perry earlier this year. Dixon, who appeared on Perry’s television series The Oval, is seeking $260 million in damages in a case that accuses Perry of sexual harassment, assault, and retaliation—claims Perry denies.

In a statement issued December 26, Perry’s attorney Alex Spiro pushed back strongly against the new lawsuit, calling it “yet another demand from more than a decade ago” and predicting it would also fail. Spiro pointed to Delshad’s involvement, noting that the same lawyer had recently pursued another case against Perry.

Delshad disputed that characterization, saying Dixon’s claims remain active and were moved from California to Georgia, not dismissed.

According to the lawsuit obtained by PEOPLE, Rodriguez says his connection to Perry began in 2015 after a trainer at a Los Angeles gym told him the filmmaker wanted to meet. Perry later contacted him by phone, the filing says, and offered him a small role in Boo! A Madea Halloween. Rodriguez ultimately appeared in the film as “Frat Guy #10.”

The complaint describes multiple occasions in which Perry invited Rodriguez to his home under the pretense of discussing future work opportunities. Those meetings, Rodriguez claims, involved drinking and unwanted sexual advances.

One incident described in the lawsuit took place in November 2018. Rodriguez says Perry grabbed his genitals despite repeated objections, forcing a physical struggle to get away. The filing states that Perry told him to “let it happen” and suggested that being with him would ensure he was “taken care of.”

After two encounters, the lawsuit says Perry apologized, gave Rodriguez $5,000, and sent him away.

A final encounter in April 2019 marked a breaking point, according to the complaint, which says it became clear that Perry would “do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted, to whomever he wanted,” regardless of rejection.

The lawsuit also claims Perry continued to reach out to Rodriguez intermittently through 2024. When Perry became aware that Rodriguez planned to file legal action, the complaint says he contacted him again by text, telling Rodriguez he had done a great deal to help him and that he felt betrayed.

Earlier this month, Rodriguez addressed his experience publicly in a December 13 Instagram video shared with his nearly one million followers. Without naming Perry, he spoke about feeling “scared and ashamed” and explained why he stayed silent for years, referring to a “powerful” director “that everybody knows.”

“I stayed quiet for much too long,” Rodriguez said in the video, adding that speaking up earlier might have prevented harm to others. “But I’m speaking up now.”

Perry has consistently denied wrongdoing in both lawsuits. In September, one of his attorneys, Matthew Boyd, said Derek Dixon “got close to Tyler Perry for what now appears to be nothing more than setting up a scam,” adding that Perry would not be “shaken down” and that the claims would fail.

As the new lawsuit moves forward, it adds to a growing legal battle that places one of entertainment’s most influential figures under renewed scrutiny as the courts determine whether the claims hold or collapse under challenge.