An actor who appeared in Tyler Perry’s “Boo! A Madea Halloween” allegedly confided in the media mogul about health concerns and financial woes months before filing a $77-million sexual assault lawsuit against the billionaire actor-director last week.
The actor, identified in court documents as Mario Rodriguez, sued Perry on Thursday for sexual assault and sexual battery in connection to multiple alleged encounters from 2015 and 2019. The 23-page civil complaint, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, claims that Rodriguez cut off contact with Perry in 2019 and that through 2024 the director “would randomly reach out to Mr. Rodriguez.”
Screenshots of text messages, obtained by several outlets including the Associated Press, seem to show otherwise.
Rodriguez initiated text conversations with Perry as recently as August of this year. In a statement Monday, Rodriguez said “people are pointing to messages where I was polite, grateful, or vulnerable — and trying to use that to discredit me.”
“Survivors often stay cordial. They often ask for help when they feel desperate,” he added. “That does not mean abuse didn’t happen. Those text messages were sent to Perry at a time when I was especially vulnerable as can be seen from the context.”
The Associated Press reported Monday that Rodriguez expressed gratitude to Perry in a message sent during Thanksgiving 2024. “Just know that I love you and I thank you for everything, I appreciate you to the moon,” Rodriguez said in one message, according to screenshots published Monday by TMZ.
In a separate string of texts sent Aug. 31, Rodriguez informed Perry of his ongoing health issues, adding that he did not have health insurance. “I know I promised you I would never ask you for anything, but if it is what I think it is, I don’t think I could do it on my own because I barely pay my bills,” Rodriguez said in one message, according to TMZ.
“I just can’t go to the doctor because I can’t even afford it,” Rodriguez said in another August text message. “I don’t want anything. I just wanna be OK. Scared brother.”
Perry attorney Alex Spiro said Monday in a statement: “I said it before and I’ll say it again. This is nothing but a 77 million dollar money grab scam.”
The Rodriguez suit comes after “The Oval” actor Derek Dixon sued Perry in June, alleging quid pro quo sexual harassment, sexual battery, retaliation and more. Dixon is seeking $260 million in damages.
Rodriguez alleges in his lawsuit that Perry, 56, leveraged his Hollywood stature “to abuse and sexually assault people who hope to secure roles in his movies,” echoing claims Dixon made in his June filing. Rodriguez also alleges that Perry did not rehire him for further projects because he rejected the director’s sexual advances. Rodriguez and Dixon are both represented by attorney Jonathan J. Delshad.
According to the new lawsuit, Rodriguez started out as a model before a trainer approached him at a luxury gym in 2015 and put him in contact with Perry for a potential role in “Boo! A Madea Halloween.” Before Rodriguez auditioned and secured the minor role, Perry allegedly informed him, “I’m not a bad person to know and have in your corner” and touted the idea of more roles in the future.
The lawsuit alleges the mogul first sexually assaulted Rodriguez in Perry’s Los Angeles home in 2015. The two began drinking together before Perry invited the actor-model to his home theater to watch a movie, the document says. Perry, who instructed Rodriguez to leave his phone in the kitchen, allegedly asked the actor about his personal life and proceeded to hug him and compliment his appearance. He allegedly began rubbing Rodriguez’s shoulders and chest while making sexual noises, the lawsuit said. After Rodriguez attempted to distance himself, Perry allegedly continued touching the actor, “rubbing his inner thigh right next to his penis,” the complaint says.
The filmmaker’s sexual assaults persisted, the lawsuit alleges, in the years after he and Rodriguez wrapped the “Madea” film in 2016. Rodriguez returned to L.A. and stayed in contact with Perry, who invited Rodriguez to visit his home again to discuss future projects, the filing says.
“After a couple of visits, Mr. Perry then again began to make more sexual comments to Mr. Rodriguez” about his appearance, “and to ask him graphic sexual questions” including whether he had ever had sex with another man, the lawsuit says. Perry allegedly grabbed Rodriguez’s leg near his genitals again, the complaint says.
In November 2018, Rodriguez accepted another invitation from Perry to discuss a potential role in the TV series “The Oval.” They met for dinner in Beverly Hills, where Perry allegedly asked “So what are we? What are we doing?” before the director instructed Rodriguez to meet him at his Los Angeles home later that evening.
Conversations about potential collaborations took a sexual turn, the lawsuit says, when Perry asked Rodriguez whether he liked oral sex and if he had given oral sex to a man. Perry allegedly tightly hugged Rodriguez, tried to unbuckle the actor’s pants, reached into his underwear and grabbed his penis, according to the complaint. Before Rodriguez left Perry’s home in a rideshare, the filmmaker placed $5,000 in his pocket, the suit says.
Perry continued to invite Rodriguez to his Los Angeles home under the guise of work and sexually assaulted the actor over the following months, the lawsuit says. After another incident in April 2019, the suit says, Rodriguez stopped communicating with Perry.
Perry allegedly became infuriated by Rodriguez’s efforts to keep his distance and sent the actor expletive-filled texts. The lawsuit includes screenshots of the alleged exchanges, including one in which Rodriguez apologizes for not staying in touch with the director due to personal matters.
“I deserve a text at [least] once a month,” Perry texted Rodriguez, according to the lawsuit. He also asked the actor about his physical training and requested to see pictures, the complaint said.
Regarding his surfaced texts to Perry, Rodriguez added in his statement that “continued financial support and access are not inconsistent with abuse — they are often part of the power dynamics that follow it.”
He added: “The existence of financial assistance does not disprove harm. It is entirely consistent with the complex realities survivors face after abuse.”
Rodriguez also sued Perry for intentional infliction of emotional distress and sued “Boo! A Madea Halloween” distributor Lionsgate for negligent retention.