Latest news with #Oval
Black America Web
14-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Black America Web
Tyler Perry Accuser Breaks Silence On Sexual Assault Allegations: 'I Couldn't Stay Silent Anymore'
Source: Derek White / Getty Derek Dixon was excited when Tyler Perry offered him an audition for The Oval , the soapy White House drama airing on BET. But his excitement soon turned to disgust when he alleged that Perry victimized him with a pattern of sexual harassment, ultimately forcing him to quit the show. In June, Dixon filed a $260M lawsuit against the mogul. 'I'm not going to speak for him on how he identifies sexually,' Dixon told THR. 'Regardless of his sexual orientation or gender, he should not be speaking to any of his employees, whether they be men or women, gay, straight, or bisexual, about their sexual preferences, how often they're having sex and physically assaulting them.' In a wide-ranging interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Dixon says that he became friends with Perry after meeting him at an event in 2019. Dixon was a struggling writer and actor in his late 30s when they met. He says the two exchanged texts that became more personal and that Perry ultimately invited him to audition for an Oval spinoff called Ruthless. He was cast on the show and was told that the role could expand over time. Dixon is an openly gay man who says he had no idea that Perry might be interested in sex with men. But after accepting an invite to Perry's home one night in January 2020, he says Perry asked him to stay overnight in his guest house after both men had several drinks. At that point, Dixon says Perry slipped into bed with him and started rubbing his thigh. He left only after Dixon told him he 'wasn't that sexual.' Despite his lack of interest, Dixon says Perry continued to text him daily and then offered him an expanded role on The Oval, again saying it could get bigger in time. Dixon appeared in 85 episodes of The Oval from 2021 to 2025. He details a pattern of harassment that included Perry constantly texting him, sometimes with sexual innuendos and sometimes with outright sexually charged entreaties. In another incident, Dixon says Perry had him come to his trailer for a drink, then pushed him against a wall and groped him. Dixon says that when he was invited back to Perry's house for what he thought would be a discussion about his comedy pilot script, Perry assaulted him. He says he thought he would be raped, but held Perry off by saying he wanted something to eat. Dixon claims that he feared being killed off on The Oval after his character was shot. Perry also delivered on his promise to shoot a pilot for his comedy script Losing It, but didn't tell Dixon he'd have to hold off shopping it for two years because of restrictions related to his Viacom (BET) deal. After moving to Los Angeles, Dixon filed an EEOC complaint and quit The Oval before his last season, despite being due $400K. 'I was an employee, and he was my boss,' Dixon says. 'The fact that I'm an actor doesn't make me any less an employee. For a long time, I convinced myself that it was part of the industry, or that somehow I had to accept it to keep working. But eventually, I couldn't stay silent anymore.' Dixon's lawsuit came out after writer/director/actor Christian Keyes, who was in Saints & Sinners and says he created All The Queen's Men , released a YouTube video in December 2023, alleging that he'd been abused by a 'Black Hollywood billionaire.' While Keyes said he'd tell more of the story and potentially identify the person, nothing more has come of the cryptic allegations. Dixon says he's been contacted by others who've had similar interactions with Perry. Dixon's suit reads, in part, that Perry has 'been using his power and influence to molest, abuse, and sexually assault impressionable and vulnerable employees and actors who look to him for guidance and mentorship while pursuing their dreams.' Perry's lawyers say the media mogul denies all allegations. In a statement provided to THR, Matthew Boyd describes Dixon as an 'individual who got close to Tyler Perry for what now appears to be nothing more than setting up a scam.' He added, 'Tyler will not be shaken down and we are confident these fabricated claims of harassment will fail.' See social media's reaction to the original report below. SEE ALSO Tyler Perry Accuser Breaks Silence On Sexual Assault Allegations: 'I Couldn't Stay Silent Anymore' was originally published on
CNA
12-07-2025
- Sport
- CNA
Lions centre Ringrose ruled out of first Australia test, Cowan-Dickie a doubt
Centre Garry Ringrose has been ruled out of the British & Irish Lions' series-opening test against Australia after failing a concussion test, while hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie is a doubt after a head-knock in the big win over AUNZ on Saturday. Ireland midfielder Ringrose, who scored a try in the 36-24 win over the ACT Brumbies on Wednesday, was replaced by Huw Jones in the Lions team that thumped the Australia-New Zealand invitational side 48-0 at Adelaide Oval. "Garry again had a concussion from last week, lingering signs of concussion so he had a headache and unfortunately he failed that," head coach Andy Farrell told Sky. "That's very sad for Garry but he'll be back within the rest of the series very shortly so that's just the way the game goes." Centre/fullback Jamie Osborne was called up to the squad as additional training cover during the week. Cowan-Dickie came off second-best in a tackle against big lock Lukhan Salakaia-Loto before half-time at Adelaide Oval and was carted off the ground. Farrell said the England hooker was in good spirits but it looked like he had also suffered concussion and another player might need to be brought into the squad. "He got up straight away as he got off the stretcher and he's back to being his normal self," added Farrell. "It's unfortunate for him... so we'll see what has to happen on the back of that." England hooker Jamie George may be among the first in line for a call-up to cover Cowan-Dickie's injury. Farrell's son Owen, the former England captain, did his chances of selection for the three-match series against the Wallabies no harm with a solid outing against AUNZ after coming off the bench early in the second half to replace Jones. Farrell had a hand in three of the Lions' five second-half tries and attacked the AUNZ line with vigour. It was by far the Lions' sharpest performance of the tour and a big improvement after their laboured win over the Brumbies. They racked up three tries in the opening 21 minutes and defended well to shut out opponents featuring 14 test players. "I thought it was a good professional performance," said Andy Farrell. "I suppose when you play these type of games, the type of personnel that you're coming up against, all sorts of things can happen.
Reuters
12-07-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
Lions centre Ringrose ruled out of first Australia test, Cowan-Dickie a doubt
July 12 (Reuters) - Centre Garry Ringrose has been ruled out of the British & Irish Lions' series-opening test against Australia after failing a concussion test, while hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie is a doubt after a head-knock in the big win over AUNZ on Saturday. Ireland midfielder Ringrose, who scored a try in the 36-24 win over the ACT Brumbies on Wednesday, was replaced by Huw Jones in the Lions team that thumped the Australia-New Zealand invitational side 48-0 at Adelaide Oval. "Garry again had a concussion from last week, lingering signs of concussion so he had a headache and unfortunately he failed that," head coach Andy Farrell told Sky. "That's very sad for Garry but he'll be back within the rest of the series very shortly so that's just the way the game goes." Centre/fullback Jamie Osborne was called up to the squad as additional training cover during the week. Cowan-Dickie came off second-best in a tackle against big lock Lukhan Salakaia-Loto before half-time at Adelaide Oval and was carted off the ground. Farrell said the England hooker was in good spirits but it looked like he had also suffered concussion and another player might need to be brought into the squad. "He got up straight away as he got off the stretcher and he's back to being his normal self," added Farrell. "It's unfortunate for him... so we'll see what has to happen on the back of that." England hooker Jamie George may be among the first in line for a call-up to cover Cowan-Dickie's injury. Farrell's son Owen, the former England captain, did his chances of selection for the three-match series against the Wallabies no harm with a solid outing against AUNZ after coming off the bench early in the second half to replace Jones. Farrell had a hand in three of the Lions' five second-half tries and attacked the AUNZ line with vigour. It was by far the Lions' sharpest performance of the tour and a big improvement after their laboured win over the Brumbies. They racked up three tries in the opening 21 minutes and defended well to shut out opponents featuring 14 test players. "I thought it was a good professional performance," said Andy Farrell. "I suppose when you play these type of games, the type of personnel that you're coming up against, all sorts of things can happen. "But I thought we played a nice, controlled game of rugby and didn't really let them in the game or get the confidence going."
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'The Oval' actor speaks about his $260 million sexual assault lawsuit against Tyler Perry: 'I couldn't stay silent'
Derek Dixon is speaking out about his bombshell lawsuit accusing Tyler Perry of sexual assault. The actor, who starred in 85 episodes of the mogul's BET series The Oval, reflected on his time working with Perry in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, detailing the alleged encounters that led him to file the $260 million lawsuit. In both the lawsuit and the THR interview, Dixon alleges that Perry climbed into bed with him on one occasion and groped his bare buttocks non-consensually on another occasion. "Everyone deserves to go to work and do their job without their boss trying to have sex with them," Dixon said in the interview. "My goal is to help ensure that the next generation of actors and creatives don't have to choose between their dreams and their dignity." When reached for comment, a spokesperson for Perry provided Entertainment Weekly with the same statement from attorney Matthew Boyd that the producer's representatives shared after Dixon's lawsuit was filed in June: "This is an individual who got close to Tyler Perry for what now appears to be nothing more than setting up a scam. But Tyler will not be shaken down and we are confident these fabricated claims of harassment will fail." In his lawsuit, Dixon accused Perry of quid pro quo sexual harassment, work environment harassment, sexual harassment, workplace gender violence, violation of the Bane Act, sexual battery, sexual assault, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. As described in his lawsuit, Dixon alleged that Perry touched him flirtatiously in bed at the producer's home in Douglasville County, Ga., about four months after the two men first met at an Atlanta party and shortly after Dixon shot an episode of Perry's Oval spinoff show Ruthless. "[Perry] climbed into bed with me and began rubbing my thigh," Dixon claimed toTHR, reiterating his account in his lawsuit. "I immediately jumped out of the bed and said, 'I'm not that sexual,' and stood up until he left the room. I thought that my reaction made it clear that night that I was not interested." Shortly thereafter, Dixon claimed that Perry told him that his Ruthless character would recur on The Oval — but at the end of his first season, the character was shot four times. "He said that if I did a good job, I'd probably survive," Dixon said, alleging that Perry told him that on a phone call. Dixon claimed that Perry said that "nobody gives him anything" on the same phone call. "He gives and gives, nobody ever gives back," Dixon told THR. "I remember feeling my stomach drop when he said this. I knew that I couldn't piss him off or my character could easily just stay dead." The actor alleged that Perry later visited him in his trailer on the Oval set and asked him flirtatious questions before grabbing his buttocks and leaving. "After he would do things like that, he would say things like, 'We need to just be business. We need to just be professional,' and I would think, 'Great. Yes,'" Dixon told THR, echoing his claims in the lawsuit. "Every time I thought it would stop." Perhaps the most serious of Dixon's allegations stem from a June 2021 incident wherein Perry allegedly invited the actor to his house to discuss a pilot that Dixon wrote. (The actor previously claimed that Perry found the script "hilarious, and he loved it and wanted to shoot the pilot.") "He told me to give him a goodnight hug and as I did, he abruptly and forcefully pulled down my underwear and groped my bare ass," Dixon alleged in the suit and to THR. "When I tried to pull my underwear back up, he grabbed my wrists to keep me from putting them back on. I couldn't believe what was happening." The actor told THR that he thought that Perry was about to rape him. "I told him 'No,' 'Stop,' and 'I don't want this,'" Dixon alleged to the outlet and in his claims in the suit. "But he wasn't stopping. He just told me to relax and let it happen and that he wasn't going to hurt me." Dixon said that after sending Perry away to get pizza, he locked himself in the producer's bathroom and fell asleep on the told THR why he didn't immediately make his allegations public. "For a long time, I convinced myself that it was part of the industry, or that somehow I had to accept it to keep working," he said. "But eventually, I couldn't stay silent anymore." Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Defender Larmour swaps Crusaders for Glentoran
Glentoran have signed Crusaders defender Daniel Larmour for an undisclosed fee. The centre-back, 26, has signed a three-year deal at the Oval after Declan Devine's side lost Kodi Lyons-Foster to Coleraine earlier in the summer. Advertisement "As soon as I knew Glentoran were interested I wanted to make the move, said the east Belfast native. "The opportunity to pull on the shirt and represent the Glens was something I was never going to turn down. "When I sat down with Declan, I was hugely impressed by the project he is delivering here and the role he sees for me within it." Larmour is the fourth summer signing at the Oval, joining Jordan Stewart, Liam Burt and Pat Hoban. As well as Lyons-Foster, Fuad Sule, Daniel Gyollai and Harry Murphy are also among the Glentoran departures. They begin their 2025-26 Irish Premiership campaign away to Portadown on 9 August.
