Second Man Slams Tyler Perry with Sexual Assault Lawsuit

Well, I stayed quiet for much too long. I could have saved somebody that this. probably happened to after me, but I do. apologize and I'm speaking up now. >> Now, a second [music] man, model Mario. Rodriguez, is suing Tyler Perry, accusing the actor of sexual assault and. alleging a disturbing pattern of. manipulation. and his lawsuit alleges. something deeply [music] specific that. Perry allegedly reenacted a famous. Goodwill hunting therapy scene in order. to target him with past trauma. This.

lawsuit also names Lionsgate [music]. accusing the studio of enabling Perry's. alleged behavior. We have the filing. It. includes alleged text messages [music]. 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 [music] Weber. 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.

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injured, you can start a claim at. forthepeople.com/lcsidebar. 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 Medadia, 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. quidd proquo 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 playing. 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 media. 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 films. 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 used 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 to 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. Pliff 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 Delshot. 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. Does. become a question. How does Rodriguez. remember essentially verbatim what Perry. had said? Did he document 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 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." H, 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. credibility 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. would 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 counterargument. to be to this would be Tyler Perry. really said that and that's specific.

language that could help your legal. claims. Maybe, maybe not. Again, this is. all going to come down to credibility. and how could 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 a rape. case, right, where you're talking about. maybe DNA or forensics, even though that. might be difficult uh from such a long. time ago. But this is really again a. question of of credibility. Now, this is.

the next part. When Rodriguez claims. that he refused these alleged sexual. advances, he claims all the acting roles. 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 media'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 to trial and is. 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. You know, 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 meet up 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. 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 was. 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 and 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 of 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 him 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. texts 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, "Os, he's. at it again. When's he going to learn?". where the friend responded when he ends.

up like Diddy. Referring to Shawn Diddy. Combmes. 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 2026. 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. 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 28page 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. Harry, the very same lawyer. has now made yet another demand from. 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. plainif 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 he even. wants to take to trial to clear his. name? Is there a risk of what could come. out through the discovery process as. material is exchanged and evidence is. exchanged? What could come out in a. 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, you know, 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. and 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 Podcast, Spotify, wherever you should get your. podcast. [music] You can follow me on X. or Instagram. I'm Jesse Weber. I'll. speak to you next time.