The text messages indicate that Tyler Perry and the “Boo!” Madea's Halloween by Mario Rodriguez who recently filed a lawsuit accusing the director of sexual assault, maintained a relationship years after Rodriguez said their communication had ended.
In a lawsuit filed last week in California, Rodriguez alleged that Perry had sex. attacked him during clashes that occurred between 2014 and 2019. The lawsuit says Rodriguez cut off contact with Perry in 2019, although Perry contacted him periodically thereafter. But screenshots of text messages obtained by The Associated Press Sunday evening show Rodriguez made contact. with Perry as recently as Thanksgiving 2024, and again on August 31, 2025, expressing gratitude, friendship, and financial hardship.
Rodriguez's lawsuit seeks at least $77 million in damages and accuses Perry of sexual assault, sexual battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Rodriguez also sued Lionsgate, which distributed “Boo! A Madea Halloween” in 2016, accusing the studio of overlooking Perry's alleged attack.
Perry has denied the allegations made in Rodriguez's lawsuit.
“Having recently failed in another case against Mr. Perry, the same attorney has now brought forward another claim made more than a decade ago that would also be a failed money grab,” Alex Spiro, Perry's lawyer, said in a statement provided Friday to CBS News.
Spiro also told the AP: “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. This is nothing more than a scam to extort $77 million.”
Lionsgate did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In one text message between Rodriguez and Perry sent on Thanksgiving 2024, Rodriguez thanked Perry for helping him through a difficult time in his life and wrote that he appreciated him “to the moon,” according to screenshots. In another series of messages on Aug. 31 of this year, Rodriguez described ongoing health problems, said he did not have health insurance and told Perry he was scared and struggling financially.
The messages were provided to the AP by a source close to the situation, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
The Associated Press generally does not name people who say they have been sexually assaulted unless they come forward publicly, as Rodriguez did.
Lawsuit follows isolated case filed in June by actor Derek Dixon, who alleged that Perry groped him while Dixon was working on Perry's television series The Oval and Ruthless. The lawsuit was originally filed in California state court and later transferred to federal court in Georgia, where Perry lives. Perry also denied Dixon's allegations.
The AP reached out to Rodriguez's lawyer, Jonathan Delshad, for comment on the text messages but did not receive a response. Delshad also represents Dixon.
