Tyler Perry Wants Texts Private

Tyler Perry sought confidentiality for associates’ texts already disclosed to Mario Rodriguez in his sexual assault lawsuit, TMZ reported Thursday, citing financial discussions and an earlier agreement.

The two had previously clashed over deposition questions about Perry’s sexual orientation, which the filmmaker argued had no bearing on Rodriguez’s allegations.

Rodriguez, who appeared in the 2016 film “Boo! A Madea Halloween,” sued Perry in December 2025 and sought at least $77 million. His complaint alleged repeated unwanted sexual contact at the filmmaker’s Los Angeles home, with accounts spanning several years. He also sued distributor Lionsgate, alleging it ignored Perry’s conduct.

He said Perry paid him $5,000 after multiple encounters. His claims included sexual assault, sexual battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress. According to the Associated Press, Rodriguez said learning about actor Derek Dixon’s separate accusations led him to sue.

Perry denied the accusations and gave a very different account of his relationship with Rodriguez in a response filed February 27. As AllHipHop previously reported, his lawyers argued that Rodriguez had sought financial help from him for years and invented the allegations when that support stopped.

The filing covered Rodriguez’s visits to his home from 2016 through 2019. It portrayed the payments as help given to someone who had appealed to him for money, while rejecting Rodriguez’s account of why the money changed hands.

The defense also sought to move the suit from state court to federal court, pointing to Perry’s Georgia residence. Dixon had filed a separate lawsuit in June 2025. Both men had the same lawyers, and Perry’s attorney Matthew Boyd had also rejected Dixon’s allegations.

Messages between Rodriguez and Perry had already become public in December 2025. The Associated Press received screenshots from someone familiar with the dispute, granting anonymity because that person lacked permission to speak publicly. Those exchanges included a Thanksgiving 2024 message thanking Perry and an August 31, 2025 conversation in which Rodriguez described health problems, a lack of insurance and money troubles.

Rodriguez’s 2025 statement, reported by the Los Angeles Times, said: “Survivors often stay cordial. They often ask for help when they feel desperate.”