Law&Crime Sidebar - Second Man Slams Tyler Perry with Sexual Assault Lawsuit

Episode Date: December 29, 2025

A second lawsuit has now been filed against Tyler Perry, this time by model and actor Mario Rodriguez, who accuses Perry of sexual assault and a years-long pattern of manipulation. The complaint alleges Perry used his power in Hollywood to target individuals with past trauma — including, according to the filing, reenacting a famous Good Will Hunting therapy scene. Law&Crime’s Jesse Weber breaks down alleged text messages and highly specific claims laid out in the lawsuit--and what could happen next.PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW:If you’re ever injured in an accident, you can check out Morgan & Morgan. You can submit a claim in 8 clicks or less without having to leave your couch. To start your claim, visit: https://forthepeople.com/LCSidebarHOST:Jesse Weber: https://twitter.com/jessecordweberLAW&CRIME SIDEBAR PRODUCTION:YouTube Management - Bobby SzokeVideo Editing - Michael Deininger, Christina O'Shea, Alex Ciccarone, & Jay CruzScript Writing & Producing - Savannah Williamson & Juliana BattagliaGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrimeTwitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lawandcrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can binge all episodes of this Law and Crimes series ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Well, I stayed quiet for much too long. I could have saved somebody that this probably happened to after me, but I do apologize. I'm speaking up now. Now a second man model Mario Rodriguez is suing Tyler Perry, accusing the actor of sexual assault and alleging a disturbing person. pattern of manipulation. And his lawsuit alleges something deeply specific, that Perry allegedly

reenacted a famous Goodwill hunting therapy scene in order to target him with past trauma. This lawsuit also names Lionsgate, accusing the studio of enabling Perry's alleged behavior. We have the filing. It includes alleged text messages. We're seeing for the first time. We have the complaint. We're going to break it all down for you right now. Welcome to Sidebar, presented by law and crime. I'm Jesse Webb. Now here's the truth. I don't know if we'd be able to put these episodes together if it wasn't for the incredible support that we get from our sponsors. And that includes Morgan and Morgan. This is America's largest personal injury law firm. This is a firm with over 1,000 attorneys who have recovered $25 billion for more than 500,000 clients.

Think about that. In past few months, a client in Florida received $12 million when insurance offered just $350,000. Out in Pennsylvania, another client was awarded $26 million. That is 40 times the insurers offer. And Morgan and Morgan, they make it easy to fight for what you deserve. You can even start a claim from your phone. So if you're injured, you can start a claim at for the people.com slash LC sidebar. You can click the link below or you can scan the QR code on screen. Have you ever gotten that call, the one that promises to change your whole life? you know, the big break, the dream opportunity, something you have been waiting for your entire life, right? For one model in Los Angeles, that call reportedly came from a Hollywood

billionaire, allegedly promising fame, a movie role, a future, opportunities. But instead, he claims this all turned into a nightmare of manipulation, unwanted advances, and sexual assault over a period of time. Now, the man on the other end of that phone, Familiar name, if you've been following us here on Sidebar, we're talking about Tyler Perry, the filmmaker, the producer, behind Medea, massive entertainment empire, and the person accusing him now is model Mario Rodriguez. He is now suing Tyler Perry. Now, the reason that I say this is because as we go into these shocking claims and the potential

legal strength of these claims, I mean, we're talking allegations of sexual assault by Perry, followed by something that I think is going to make your jaw drop. This is not the first time we have talked about Tyler Perry recently. No, we covered Tyler Perry here before back in June. Another actor, Derek Dixon, filed a $260 million lawsuit in California accusing Perry of essentially quid pro quo sexual harassment and assault. Now, Perry's legal team, they fought back hard. They called it a failed money grab, arguing the case should be thrown out or moved to Georgia. That battle is still planning out, by the way.

But now Perry is facing a second, arguably strikingly similar kind of lawsuit. And that's what we want to go into. Now, this new one was filed just days ago, literally on Christmas Day, December 25th, 2025 in California Superior Court. And this is brought again by Mario Rodriguez, a model, an actor who had this very small role in Perry's 2016 film called Boo a Medea Halloween. And this lawsuit doesn't just name Tyler Perry. It also seemingly targets his production company and Lionsgate, the studio that distributes Tyler Perry's film. So accusing them essentially of knowing about his alleged behavior, enabling it, and

benefiting from him. So, by the way, from a legal point of view, from a lawsuit point of view, usually go after the entities, as that may be where the money, the assets are for purposes of liability and collection. What are the key allegations? What's the main theme here? Rodriguez claims that Perry use the promise of roles, a Hollywood career, to groom him, make sexual advances, touch him, and sexually abuse him. And the suit describes an alleged pattern of isolating him, prying into past trauma, escalating physical contact and explicit propositions.

But the details in the complaint, they are very, very specific. They are also graphic, and they follow a disturbing script, for lack of a better word, a script. Okay, and that's what we want to go into. We want to go through this story and see if there's a strength to it, strength to these claims, strength of the narrative. So I'm going to walk you through the complaint, basically page by page, and I'm going to read you directly from key sections so you can hear the language that it's used. So the document starts by setting the stage.

The second paragraph reads, quote, defendant Tyler Perry is a producer director who wields immense power in the movie industry. Unfortunately, Perry uses his power to abuse and sexually assault people who hope to secure roles in his movies. Perry's type are those who have been victims of childhood traumas in the past. Plaintiff Mario Rodriguez was one of his victims. Now, that's key language because I said at the time, I remember this, when Dixon had filed his lawsuit against Tyler Perry, I wondered, would this lead to more accusers to come forward? Right. Was Derek Dixon just a one-off making these allegations, or could this start more people coming forward? It's a two-edged sword when you think about it, right? Perry's position could be, as soon as one

person sues, this will open the floodgates for more false accusations. The other side, assuming all the allegations are true, takes one person to come forward against a wealthy, powerful person for others to feel safe to do so. We've seen this back and forth in a lot of high-profile sexual misconduct cases. And I will say, too, this is important to note. Rodriguez is represented by the same lawyer who brought Derek Dixon's claims. We're talking about Jonathan Delshod. We'll get more on that a little bit later. But the core allegation is established immediately. We're talking about an abusive power targeting vulnerable people. Now, how did Rodriguez enter into Perry's orbit, right? Let's start there. So the complaint says that in 2015, a trainer

at an equinox gym out in Los Angeles approached Rodriguez and told him, quote, that defendant Tyler Perry wanted to meet Mr. Rodriguez and to talk about offering him an acting role. And the complaint alleges that Perry called him that same day. The filing allegedly quotes Perry from that call saying about the potential role, quote, you know, Mario, I'm not a bad person to know and have in your corner. And the suit states that Rodriguez auditions quickly gets the part. It reads, clearly the audition was only a formality given Mr. Perry's position of power and his personal desire to have Mr. Rodriguez work for him. Okay, let's stop right there. So first, if Rodriguez can establish that Perry called him and that this person

approached him at Equinox, so you wonder if that person would testify if they're available, that would be key. It does become a question. How does Rodriguez remember, essentially verbatim, what Perry had said, that he documented it in some way. This call is probably not recorded. But an argument could be, you know, it's unusual for Tyler Perry to set all this up, have a communication with a minor player in a film, usually a casting director or a producer would handle that. But I don't know, maybe there's an argument that this is Perry's style. He has ownership on all aspects. He wants to speak to everybody that's involved in the cast. The other way to look at it is this is unusual and Perry targeted Rodriguez and only got on the part for his own personal

reasons. Now, how can they establish the phone call other than through the testimony of Rodriguez? Maybe there's a phone records. Maybe there's phone records, but obviously it wouldn't be a printout of their conversation. It would rather be just this call took place at that time. But again, we're talking about, you know, 10 years ago. So then the complaint describes things escalating during this solo visit that Rodriguez made to Perry's Los Angeles home. This is key. Now, Rodriguez makes clear that while all of this is going on, he's just really excited for this acting opportunity and to be working with Tyler Perry. So anyway, he allegedly goes over. They have drinks. They go to Tyler Perry's theater room. Now, first, the complaint details this

instruction from Perry. He allegedly told Mr. Rodriguez to keep his cell phone in the kitchen because, quote, there are cameras everywhere, and they're always listening. Hmm. By the way, if there really are cameras in his house, is that something that could be obtained through discovery and you can have him on camera saying that? I don't know. In the theater, this is important. The suit alleges that Perry began asking deeply personal questions about Rodriguez's childhood and traumas. And Rodriguez became emotional. The suit alleges, quote, Mr. Perry told him, you have a lot of trauma in you.

And believe it or not, we have a lot in common. Mr. Perry told Mr. Rodriguez to stand up and said, come here, man, let me hug you. Mr. Perry hugged Mr. Rodriguez and said, it's not your fault. Now listen to this. Quote, in the moment, Mr. Rodriguez could not help but feel that Mr. Perry was trying to reenact the famous scene

between Matt Damon and Robin Williams from the acclaimed 1997 movie Goodwill Hunting. Now, if you haven't seen Goodwill Hunting, First of all, you should. It's a great movie. But if you haven't, it's a very famous therapy scene where Robin Williams' character repeatedly tells Matt Damon's character who had been abused in the past that it's not your fault, pulling him into a hug. There's a really big emotional breakdown. And it's meant to be this moment of deep vulnerability and release, which is why you're having this alleged comparison. It stands out. And I will say, that level of unique specificity, that can arguably help with credit. ability if this goes to trial and Rodriguez takes the stand. It's like so strange and so specific. Could he really make this up? Maybe. Maybe not. But you go from there. The complaint describes this encounter taking a turn. This is when, according to Rodriguez, it turns physically invasive.

With Perry, then allegedly rubbing Rodriguez's shoulders and his chest and making comments. And when Rodriguez sits back down, he claims that Perry sat next to him and began rubbing his inner thigh. Now Rodriguez claims that he then got up and excused himself, but the suit quotes or allegedly quotes Perry as being persistent, saying, just relax. I promise I'm a good guy to know and have in your corner. You just need to relax and stop being so tense. Man, if you just come, I would take care of you for the rest of your life and you wouldn't have to worry about anything. And I know you'll come around? Now, he claims that he ultimately left Perry's house, went home, but what happens next? So he says he goes to Atlanta to film in January 2016, and he says that Perry never sexually

assaulted him or attacked him on set, which by the way, also potentially goes to an issue of credibility, right? For someone who may be questioning Rodriguez and questioning if this is true, you could argue, well, if he's claiming that he was assaulted by Tyler Perry, wouldn't he want to, you know, embellish every detail he can, but to say that it started only at this house with his leg being touched, nothing further happening, that nothing happened on set, does it help with credibility, right? Maybe. Now, after the film wrapped, this is when Rodriguez accuses Perry of allegedly continuing to invite Rodriguez over, saying how he might be a good fit for future roles that he's writing. Now, Rodriguez claims that during these visits, they would talk about

work, but then also personal things. And from here, he claims that Perry allegedly made sexual comments to him and even asked if he had sex with another man. And then when Rodriguez apparently said that he was having a baby with his girlfriend and that Perry allegedly sensed how stressed out Rodriguez was about his financial situation, Perry allegedly said, quote, if you would just give in to me, I would take care of you. You would never have to worry about anything again. Side note. We don't know if this actually happened.

The counter argument to this would be, Tyler Perry really said that in that specific language that could help your legal claims? Maybe, maybe not. Again, it's all going to come down to credibility and how can they back it up. But Perry also allegedly shared, and this is important, that he himself, quote, was sexually molested.

as a kid. And the complaint argues that he was using that shared trauma as a tactic to build trust before making more sexual advances. And then he claims that Tyler Perry sexually assaulted him, like allegedly grabbing his leg right by his private area and allegedly saying, it's all right. Now, there is no way to truly corroborate that unless there are cameras in the home, or it's just the testimony of Rodriguez. This is not like a rape case, right? We were talking about maybe DNA or forensics, even though that might be difficult from such a long time ago.

But this is really, again, a question of credibility. Now, this is the next part. When Rodriguez claims that he refused these alleged sexual advances, he claims all the acting rolls dried up. The suit states plainly, quote, Because Mr. Rodriguez continually rejected Mr. Perry's sexual advances and assaults, Mr. Perry never hired him for Medea's Halloween 2, despite all their conversations for new roles for Rodriguez.

Then we go to this key moment, this key incident that allegedly happened, it's talked about in the complaint, that allegedly happened in November of 2018. So after a dinner where Perry allegedly discussed a role for Rodriguez in the Oval show, the Oval Series. By the way, Rodriguez said that he was reluctant to go to this dinner in the first place but thought, you know what, this is a restaurant, it's a public place. He was thinking of his career. And that's important because if Rodriguez takes this trial and it's cross-examined by Perry's attorney about you claim you're sexually harassed, sexually assaulted, why did you keep coming back if this were true? Well, now he would try to explain it. It's career advancement. I was trying to help my career. Was maybe hoping that this wouldn't happen again, that I'd have a safe place. I'm trying to think of my career. I'm trying to think of my family. Anyway, going back to this.

After the dinner, Rodriguez claims that Perry invited him again over to his house. And by the way, there is a text exchange that's embedded in this complaint that arguably confirms this meetup at the house. There, the suit describes Perry allegedly making explicit sexual propositions. When Rodriguez goes to the kitchen, the suit alleges, quote, Mr. Perry followed Mr. Perry followed Mr. Rodriguez to the kitchen. Then Mr. Perry tightly hugged Mr. Rodriguez and repeatedly told him to, quote, hold on while Mr. Perry tried to unbuckle Mr. Rodriguez's pants.

And the complaint then states it alleges that Perry then grabbed Rodriguez in the genital area. And Rodriguez allegedly said no. He was able to struggle free. And then he apparently calls Uber to go home. and as he waits for his ride, the suit describes this alleged sequence. Quote, Mr. Perry tried to apologize for his sexual assault, telling Mr. Rodriguez, hey, my bad, my bad.

Mr. Perry, afraid of consequences for his sexual assaults, then stepped away for a minute, returned and stuffed $5,000 into Mr. Rodriguez's pocket. So from there, the complaint claims that the next month, Perry invited Rodriguez over again to his House, and there is another embedded conversation, text exchange, seemingly suggesting that. Now, I'm going to read you this next part verbatim from the complaint. I think it's important, quote, Mr. Rodriguez agreed to go over because Perry had made him believe that Perry was sorry for assaulting him. The $5,000 in reaching out back to him about the situation and making light of it was a sign

of Perry's understanding of his guilt and of the mistake Perry made, even though a lucid Rodriguez would be concerned about a worse assault, Rodriguez could not get past the potential a living his dream of being a movie star and the fame and fortune that would accompany him that was being dangled in front of him. Again, very, very important if he's cross-examined about why he kept going back. Now Rodriguez claims, though, that while at Perry's house, Perry allegedly massaged his shoulders, gave him long hugs, talked about sexual things, and then, sprinkled in some stuff about work. And he claims that he would leave the house before things escalated. From there, the suit claims after another unwanted advance, namely allegedly forcing

his hand on Perry's private area in 2018 or 2019. So this is a separate incident. Again, Rodriguez claims he went over to the house because this was his only way to break into the industry and that Perry allegedly said they were going to talk about potential roles. It says, the complaint says, quote, Perry once again apologized and stuffed another $5,000 in cash in Mr. Rodriguez's pocket and sent them away. Now, after Rodriguez, apparently finally cut off contact with Tyler Perry, the complaint includes these apparent text messages from June 2019 seemingly showing Perry's frustration. So if these are, in fact, messages between Perry and Rodriguez, okay, assuming that's what

these are, Perry allegedly texts him, quote, I haven't heard from you. And when Rodriguez apologized, Perry allegedly responded, I deserve a text at least once a month. There's also alleged text from Tyler Perry that say, good night, F off, wanted to give you much S. You never text unless something is going on. A text saying, no, you're busy, just saying hi, is what all my friends do. And in the end, Rodriguez claims that he never got additional work from Tyler Perry. And the lawsuit claims that Rodriguez decided to come forward in 2025 with his allegations after learning of that similar lawsuit that was filed by actor Derek Dixon. In fact, and this is in the complaint, a friend allegedly texted Rodriguez about Dixon's lawsuit. And Rodriguez replied,

quote, O.S. He's added again, when's he going to learn? Where the friend responded when he ends up like Diddy, referring to Sean Diddy Combs. Now, the final part of the complaint lays out the four legal claims, the causes of action here, what he's suing for. Sexual assault, sexual battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, all against Perry. And there is a fourth claim for negligent retention against Lionsgate. By the way, should be noted the timing of this suit. So it's filed right before 2020. And for example, under California law, you need to file a sexual assault lawsuit within 10 years from the date of the last act or attempted act. And while he describes an incident in 2019, remember, 2015 is when all of this allegedly started and, you know, trace back to that first alleged episode. So I would imagine in an abundance of caution filing this right before 2026, probably how the suit can maybe go forward. That's just my two cents. Anyway, going back to that negligent retention claim, so the argument is is that Lionsgate, right, this film distributor, which the suit claims hires and supervisors, Tyler Perry, and benefits from his production of films, they knew or should have known of this alleged

misconduct that they failed to act and they continued to financially benefit from their relationship with Tyler Perry. And this lawsuit is seeking damages reportedly totaling $77 million. dollars. Rodriguez claims that he has suffered PTSD, physical, psychological, emotional injuries, damage to his professional reputation, which, by the way, yes, could be substantiated by Rodriguez testifying about how he suffered. But sometimes in these lawsuits, you see medical professionals testifying, maybe an agent, a producer, talking about reputational harm or what they observed, friends, family. But the harm suffered is essential for a damages

calculation in a lawsuit. So that's the core narrative. And the key excerpts, as presented in this 28-page complaint. Now, I will say this, okay? In the days since this complaint was filed, there has been some activity. Both sides have responded publicly. So Tyler Perry's defense team, which is led by high-profile attorney Alex Spiro, has issued a categorical denial. That statement reads, having recently failed in another matter against Mr. Perry, the very same lawyer has now made yet another demand for more than a decade ago, which will also be a failed money grab. And this directly references the previous lawsuit filed by actor Derek Dixon, which is still in its early legal stages, apparently was moved from California to Georgia.

And shortly after the lawsuit became public, Mario Rodriguez, the plaintiff here, posted a video addressing his choice to speak out. Listen to what he said. Well, I stayed quiet for much too long. and I just want to say I'm really sorry, man, because if I would have spoken up sooner, I could have saved somebody that this probably happened to after me. I just want to say sorry for that, whoever that may be. It could have stopped with me if I would have said something. But I do apologize, and I'm speaking up now. So look, we'll see if Tyler Perry will try to get this dismissed on procedural grounds.

Is this a case that even wants to take to trial to clear his name? Is there a risk of what could come out through the discovery process? is exchanged, and evidence is exchanged, what could come out in trial, what could come out in the media. And whenever you think about a high-profile player like this, there's two things, right? There's obviously the lawsuit, there's the court of law, but then also the court of public opinion. The world of public opinion is a lot different than a court of law. The text messages that are being presented publicly, they could be more difficult ones to overcome or explain from a media perspective, from a PR perspective.

Now, the problem for Rodriguez is this is an allegation. And unless he told others immediately or over the years what allegedly happened to him, there was that friend that allegedly text him the news of Dixon when that came out. Maybe that person would come forward. But unless Rodriguez has some other definitive proof, it is essentially his word against Tyler Perry's. And him keeping contact with Tyler Perry and still coming over. that will have to be explained to a jury. It really comes down to that continuing conversation

of power dynamics, the psychology of sexual assault, the Hollywood dynamic. It can get very, very complicated. But for Tyler Perry, again, these are just allegations and he's denying it. And Tyler Perry has a right to defend himself. So this is still in the early stages. We will see how that plays out. We'll keep a careful eye on it here on Sidebar. It's all we have for you, though, right now. Thank you so much for joining us. And as always, please subscribe on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, wherever you should get your podcasts. You can follow me on X or Instagram. I'm Jesse Weber. I'll speak to you next time. Apple Podcasts or Spotify.