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Tyler Perry has pushed back against Mario Rodriguez’s $77 million sexual assault lawsuit, responding with court documents filed on February 27.
The filmmaker's legal team filed a blistering court response on Feb. 27, going after plaintiff Mario Rodriguez's $77 million sexual assault lawsuit and calling the entire case a calculated money grab by someone who exploited Perry's generosity for years, then turned on him when the money stopped.
The court documents paint Rodriguez, who had a minor role in Perry's 2016 comedy Boo! A Madea Halloween, as a repeat visitor to Perry's home between 2016 and 2019, who "repeatedly turned to Perry as his personal piggy bank." When the financial assistance dried up, Perry's attorneys say, Rodriguez invented a story.
"When Plaintiff's repeated requests for more financial assistance were met with silence, angry at the loss of his golden goose, Plaintiff spun a false tale," the filing states.
Rodriguez filed his lawsuit in December 2025, alleging Perry used his Hollywood influence to sexually assault him on multiple occasions under the pretense of offering acting opportunities. He claimed Perry "uses his power to abuse and sexually assault people who hope to secure roles in his movies," according to USA Today.
Perry's team described the relationship as "a feigned friendship," one in which Rodriguez allegedly manipulated the director's kindness before twisting "the true reason for the payments to ignite a media firestorm" once Perry pulled back.
Perry also moved to shift the case out of California state court, filing a notice of removal to federal court. His legal team argues that the California court lacks proper jurisdiction, given that his primary residence is in Georgia.
This is not the only lawsuit of its kind sitting on Perry's desk.
Derek Dixon, an actor known for Perry's TV series The Oval, filed similar sexual assault allegations in June 2025. Perry's attorney Matthew Boyd dismissed that case as "nothing more than setting up a scam," adding that Perry "will not be shaken down."
A judge has since ordered Dixon's California federal case transferred to the Georgia federal court.
What makes both cases notable beyond the accusations is that Rodriguez and Dixon share the same legal representation, a detail Perry's camp has flagged as evidence of a coordinated strategy against the entertainer.
