Tyler Perry Slams $77 Million Sexual Battery Lawsuit as “Final Money Grab”

‘His Personal Piggy Bank’: Tyler Perry Slams $77 Million Sexual Battery Lawsuit as “Final Money Grab”

LOS ANGELES — Billionaire filmmaker Tyler Perry has officially broken his silence regarding a high-profile sexual battery lawsuit, filing a scathing legal response that characterizes the allegations as a calculated "shakedown" by a former associate.

In court documents filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Friday 27th February Perry’s legal team vehemently denied the claims brought by actor and model Mario Rodriguez. The filing marks a significant escalation in the legal battle, with Perry’s attorneys alleging that Rodriguez only turned to litigation after his "repeated requests for more financial assistance" were finally ignored.

The "Piggy Bank" Defense

The lawsuit, originally filed by Rodriguez in late December 2025, seeks $77 million in damages. Rodriguez, who had a minor role as "Frat Guy #10" in the 2016 film Boo! A Madea Halloween, alleges that Perry subjected him to unwanted sexual advances and battery at the director's home between 2016 and 2019.

However, Perry’s lead attorney, famed litigator Alex Spiro, presented a starkly different narrative in the Friday response. The defense argues that the two maintained a "feigned friendship" for nearly a decade, during which Rodriguez allegedly "preyed on Perry’s generosity."

“After being cast in a very minor role in a single Perry film a decade ago, [Rodriguez] repeatedly turned to Perry as his personal piggy bank,” the filing states. “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... to fuel his final money grab.”

The "Thanksgiving" Texts

A key pillar of Perry’s defense involves newly surfaced communication between the two men. According to the filing, Rodriguez initiated contact with Perry as recently as Thanksgiving 2024 and August 2025—years after the alleged abuse purportedly took place.

In these messages, Rodriguez reportedly expressed deep gratitude and friendship toward Perry, while simultaneously detailing his own financial distress and lack of health insurance. Perry’s team argues these "cordial and appreciative" texts are inconsistent with the behavior of someone who had been victimized by the recipient.

Rodriguez’s legal team, however, has countered that survivors often maintain cordiality with powerful figures out of vulnerability or fear, stating that financial pleas do not negate the reality of the alleged abuse.

A Pattern of Litigation

This $77 million case is the second major sexual misconduct lawsuit currently facing the mogul. Perry is also fighting a $260 million suit filed in June 2025 by The Oval actor Derek Dixon, who is represented by the same attorney as Rodriguez, Jonathan Delshad.

Perry’s attorneys have been quick to link the two cases, dismissing them both as part of a coordinated "scam" targeting the filmmaker's wealth.

• Mario Rodriguez Suit: $77 million (Filed Dec 2025)

• Derek Dixon Suit: $260 million (Filed June 2025)

The Road Ahead

Perry has requested that the court throw out Rodriguez’s suit entirely, maintaining that every encounter described in the complaint was either fabricated or a distortion of a consensual and supportive relationship.

As the "Marathon" of legal proceedings begins, the case places one of Hollywood’s most influential figures under intense scrutiny. With a jury trial likely on the horizon for late 2026, the court will eventually have to decide if these claims are the "failed money grab" Perry alleges or a long-overdue reckoning for a powerful executive.