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Tyler Perry to Male Sexual Assault Accuser
I’m Not Embarrassed By My Sexual Orientation!!!
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Tyler Perry claims his male sexual assault accuser, Mario Rodriguez, is working overtime to pressure him into a settlement … but the famed director says he won’t cave.
In new legal docs, filed by Tyler’s legal team and obtained by TMZ, the movie mogul fires back at Mario’s claim he won’t sit for a deposition unless Mario agrees not to ask about his sexual orientation. Mario asked that Tyler be sanctioned for not appearing at a deposition, where he says he planned to ask Tyler if he was attracted to men.
In his new filing, Tyler scoffs at Mario’s claims about the deposition and says he already agreed to sit for one.
He claims Mario holds the “backwards belief” that he should “be embarrassed to answer questions about his sexual orientation.” Tyler insists he’s not embarrassed and says Mario’s motion was filed to pressure him into settling the case — and it’s not working.
Tyler said when he turned down a multi-million dollar settlement proposal brought by Mario, the guy turned around and filed the motion about the deposition to harm his reputation.
The director said Mario’s moves in court are essentially part of an effort to bully Tyler into a settlement.
In his filing, Tyler said the questions Mario wanted to ask about his sexual orientation are irrelevant to the case at hand. He claimed Mario’s theory would mean a man who is attracted to men is more likely to have assaulted another man … which he calls a “bigoted stereotype.”
In addition to opposing the motion, Tyler is asking the court to sanction Mario to the tune of $7,300 for abusing the discovery process.
As TMZ first reported, Mario sued Tyler for $77 million, alleging the film producer sexually assaulted him.
In court docs, Mario claimed he met the director in 2015 at a gym. He said Tyler gave him a role in a 2015 film he directed … and claims, over time, Tyler invited him over to his home and sexually assaulted him.
Mario claimed Tyler questioned him about oral sex before touching his junk. He said Tyler apologized and paid him $5K for the incident … and alleged there was another incident in which Tyler forced Mario’s hand on his penis.
Tyler denies all allegations of wrongdoing. His team claimed Mario kept talking to him over the years … despite his claims that he was sexually assaulted. He said the allegations of assault only came after he refused to keep providing Mario with financial assistance.
