Tyler Perry claims actor Mario Rodriguez Jr. used questions about the filmmaker’s sexual orientation to pressure him into paying a multimillion-dollar settlement.
In new court documents, Perry’s attorneys accuse Rodriguez of abusing the discovery process in his $77 million sexual assault lawsuit. The filing says Rodriguez sought sanctions after Perry objected to questions about his sexual orientation, which Perry argues are unrelated to the allegations.
Perry rejects the suggestion that he dodged answering because he felt embarrassed. His legal team calls that argument a “backwards belief” that he “should be embarrassed to answer questions about his sexual orientation.”
The filing also challenges what Perry describes as “a bigoted stereotype” suggesting “a man who is attracted to men is more likely to have assaulted another man.”
Perry is asking the court to deny Rodriguez’s request and order him to pay $7,300 in sanctions. Rodriguez claims he met Perry at a gym in 2015 before appearing in Boo! A Madea Halloween. He alleges Perry later sexually assaulted him during visits to the filmmaker’s home. Perry has denied every allegation.
Rodriguez has also addressed why he remained in contact with Perry afterward.
“Why did I keep going back there? That’s the same question I asked myself for so many years,” he said in a TikTok video. Rodriguez says he would not believe that people would believe him.
