US film and TV giant Tyler Perry has been sued for $260m (£194m) by an actor who has accused the mogul of sexually assaulting him while working on his TV shows.
Derek Dixon has filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles accusing Perry of using his influence in the entertainment industry to create a "coercive, sexually exploitative dynamic" while he was acting on The Oval and Ruthless.
He alleges Perry promised him a successful acting career but then subjected him to "escalating sexual harassment, assault and battery, and professional retaliation" when he didn't reciprocate Perry's "unwanted advances".
Perry's lawyer denied the allegations and called the lawsuit a "scam" to make money.
"This is an individual who got close to Tyler Perry for what now appears to be nothing more than setting up a scam," his attorney Matthew Boyd told the BBC. "But Tyler will not be shaken down and we are confident these fabricated claims of harassment will fail."
