The Daily Populous Saturday December 27th, 2025 day edition
Authored by apnews.com and submitted by AudibleNod

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Tyler Perry was sued for sexual assault by an actor who appeared in “Boo! A Madea Halloween,” marking the second lawsuit in recent months accusing the filmmaker and studio mogul of leveraging his power in Hollywood to make sexual advances.

Mario Rodriguez filed the lawsuit Thursday in California, alleging Perry subjected him to repeated unwanted sexual advances over several years, including sexual battery and assault at Perry’s Los Angeles home. Rodriguez is seeking at least $77 million in damages and also has sued Lionsgate, which distributed the 2016 film, accusing the studio of turning a blind eye to Perry’s alleged misconduct.

Lionsgate did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

In a statement, Perry’s lawyer 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 claims.

After Rodriguez was cast, he was invited to Perry’s home, where Perry allegedly touched him inappropriately while they watched a movie. 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.

steroboros on December 27th, 2025 at 04:10 UTC »

I used to work in a restaurant in Atlanta across the street from his Stageworks studio. He'd bring a different twink for lunch at least 3 times a week, im actually surprised its taken 2 decades for this kind of stuff to come out...

Riskybusiness622 on December 27th, 2025 at 04:06 UTC »

The Boondocks called this one 20 years in advance.

AudibleNod on December 27th, 2025 at 04:05 UTC »

This is the second lawsuit alleging sexual assault this year for Tyler Perry.