Tyler Perry is back in court, and this time the fight is not just about the sexual assault allegations themselves. The filmmaker has filed a new motion accusing his accuser, Mario Rodriguez, of leaking private text messages that were handed over under a confidentiality agreement. The filing, submitted in Los Angeles on October 29, 2026, asks a judge to stop Rodriguez from sharing messages Perry exchanged with business associates and friends. Perry says those conversations were never meant for the public eye.
Trigger warning: This article discusses allegations of sexual misconduct. Reader discretion is advised.
The Lawsuit That Started It All
Mario Rodriguez filed his lawsuit against Tyler Perry on December 25, 2025, in Los Angeles Superior Court. Rodriguez, an actor and model who appeared in a minor role in the 2016 film Boo! A Madea Halloween, is seeking at least $77 million in damages. The lawsuit names Perry and Lionsgate, the studio that distributed the film, as defendants.
Rodriguez claims he met Perry through a trainer at an Equinox gym in 2015. That connection led to a small part in the Halloween comedy. According to the complaint, Perry’s behavior turned sexual during later meetings that were framed as discussions about acting opportunities. The lawsuit alleges that Perry touched Rodriguez inappropriately at his Los Angeles home and that Perry gave him $5,000 after multiple encounters. Rodriguez says the money came after the alleged incidents, not as payment for them. The complaint includes claims of sexual assault, sexual battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Perry has denied every allegation. His attorney, Alex Spiro, has called the lawsuit a “failed money grab” and said the claims have no basis in fact or law. Perry’s legal team argues that Rodriguez stayed in contact with Perry for years after the alleged incidents and only turned against him when the financial support stopped. Court filings from Perry’s side describe years of messages in which Rodriguez asked for help with medical bills, a car, and other expenses. Rodriguez has said those messages do not cancel out his allegations. He explained that survivors often stay polite with people who hold power over their careers and income.
The New Fight Over Private Messages
The confidentiality dispute is the newest layer in a case that has already produced multiple court filings and public back-and-forth. Perry says he turned over text messages with several associates during the discovery process, the stage of a lawsuit where both sides exchange evidence. Those messages were produced under an agreement that limited how they could be shared. Perry’s motion claims Rodriguez has ignored that agreement and allowed the messages to reach the public.
The filing argues that the texts involve financial discussions and include people who are not part of the lawsuit. Perry says he and his associates believed their conversations were private. Releasing the messages, his team argues, would cause “unnecessary annoyance and embarrassment” to people who have nothing to do with the case. The motion asks the court to limit how Rodriguez can use or share the material outside of the legal proceedings.
Rodriguez had not filed a response to the confidentiality dispute in court documents as of October 29, 2026. No ruling on Perry’s request had been reported by that date.
Why Perry Says These Texts Are Different
Messages between Perry and Rodriguez already became public in December 2025, before the current dispute. The Associated Press obtained screenshots of exchanges from a person familiar with the case who was granted anonymity. Those messages showed Rodriguez thanking Perry in a Thanksgiving 2024 text and describing health problems and money troubles in an August 31, 2025 message. Rodriguez later said the friendly tone of those texts should not be used to discredit his claims.
The new dispute is about a different set of messages. These are conversations Perry had with other people, not with Rodriguez. Perry’s filing stresses that his associates are private individuals with no role in the lawsuit. The argument is not just about Perry’s own privacy but about the privacy of third parties who texted him expecting those words to stay between them.
A Radar Online report on the filing noted that Perry is asking the court to prevent Rodriguez from distributing the messages outside the litigation. The report also confirmed that Rodriguez had not yet responded to the confidentiality request.
What the Text Messages Reportedly Show
Perry’s legal team has used earlier text messages as part of its defense. Radar Online reported in December 2025 that Perry’s attorney, Alex Spiro, pointed to a Thanksgiving 2024 message in which Rodriguez wrote, “Just know that I love you and I thank you for everything”. Another message from August 31, 2025 showed Rodriguez telling Perry about health issues and financial strain. Rodriguez wrote that he did not have health insurance and was dealing with ongoing medical problems.
Perry’s side argues that these messages show a friendly, ongoing relationship and that Rodriguez only filed the lawsuit after Perry stopped providing financial help. Rodriguez has pushed back on that reading. In a statement reported by the Los Angeles Times, he said, “Survivors often stay cordial. They often ask for help when they feel desperate”. In a social media message shared by The Neighborhood Talk on Instagram, Rodriguez also said, “It takes a lot of courage to move forward and put yourself out there like the way I did”.
The Second Lawsuit and the Lionsgate Ruling
Perry is facing a second sexual assault lawsuit from Derek Dixon, an actor who worked on Perry’s television series The Oval and Ruthless. Dixon filed his lawsuit in June 2025 and is seeking $260 million in damages. Dixon alleges that Perry groped him and made unwanted sexual advances while he was employed on Perry’s productions. Perry has denied those allegations as well.
The Rodriguez case also includes Lionsgate as a defendant. Rodriguez claims the studio knew or should have known about Perry’s alleged conduct and failed to act. On October 19, 2026, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Brock T. Hammond issued a tentative ruling indicating that Rodriguez had sufficiently addressed earlier problems with his negligence claims against Lionsgate. The judge signaled he was leaning toward keeping the studio in the lawsuit rather than dismissing it. Lionsgate had asked to be removed as a co-defendant.
That ruling matters because it keeps pressure on the studio to answer questions about what it knew and when. The complaint alleges that a 2013 audit alerted Lionsgate to accusations that Perry used his position to lure aspiring actors into sexual situations. Lionsgate has denied the claims and argued that Rodriguez admitted there was no misconduct during his time on the film set.
Where the Confidentiality Fight Stands
The request to keep the associates’ texts private is now sitting with the court. Perry’s filing argues that the messages should remain under seal because they contain financial details and because the people involved never agreed to have their private conversations shared with the public. Rodriguez’s side has not yet responded in court documents. A judge will have to decide whether the texts stay confidential or become part of the public record.
You May Also Like:
View all articles about
For now, the case continues on two tracks: the sexual assault allegations themselves and the smaller but increasingly bitter fight over who gets to see which messages. The $77 million lawsuit is still in its early stages, and no trial date has been set. Perry’s deposition in the Rodriguez case had been agreed to for December 9, according to a July 2026 ruling that denied Rodriguez’s request to force Perry to testify sooner.
Also Read: Tyler Perry’s Doing Life Trailer Shows a Former Prison Officer and an Ex-Convict Finding Love
Stay with VvipTimes for clear, factual updates on the court cases and entertainment stories that matter.
Leave a Reply