Model accuses Tyler Perry of sexual assault in new lawsuit

A model who said he was recruited by film and television producer Tyler Perry for movie roles alleges in a California civil lawsuit that Perry used his position “to abuse and sexually assault” him

A model who said he was recruited by film and television producer Tyler Perry for movie roles alleges in a California civil lawsuit that Perry used his position “to abuse and sexually assault” him.

The suit by model Mario Rodriguez, which was filed in Los Angeles state court Monday, seeks $77 million in damages. It alleges Rodriguez was the victim of sexual assault and sexual battery over the roughly five years he and Perry communicated, mostly about Rodriguez’s move into film and TV.

In a statement Friday, before the suit was filed, Perry’s lawyer, Alex Spiro, characterized the legal action as a shakedown and anticipated it would be “a failed money grab.”

The suit alleges that a trainer at the Los Angeles gym where Rodriguez regularly worked out at in 2015 told him Perry wanted to speak to him about acting work and that when Rodriguez gave the trainer his phone number, Perry called the same day to recruit him for a role in a project that would become “Boo! A Madea Halloween.”

Perry told Rodriguez he looked at his Instagram account and was impressed with his modeling, the suit says. When Rodriguez made it clear he had never acted before, Perry is alleged to have said, “Mario, I’m not a bad person to know and have in your corner.”