Who is Mario Rodriguez? 'Boo! A Madea Halloween' actor sues Tyler Perry over alleged sexual assaults

Mario Rodriguez has sued Tyler Perry for $77 million. Rodriguez is a model who had a minor acting role in 2016’s Boo! A Madea Halloween. He accuses Perry of making untoward sexual advances and sexually assaulting him. The model further alleges that Perry had assaulted him while promising him future roles.
 

Rodriguez’s attorney is Jonathan J. Delshad, who represented Derek Dixon in a similar case against Perry in early 2025. Dixon, who had played Dale in Perry’s The Oval, alleged that the studio executive threatened to kill his character off if he ignored him. 

Alex Spiro, who is representing Perry, has dismissed the suit as frivolous, stating:

“Having recently failed in another matter against Mr. Perry, the very same lawyer has now made yet another demand from more than a decade ago, which will also be a failed money grab."

Delshad responded to the above claims, clarifying that Dixon’s case is very much still in the courts and had only been transferred to a different state. 

More details on Rodriguez’s accusations against Tyler Perry

Rodriguez claimed in his court filings that he was at a Los Angeles gym in 2015 when a trainer approached him on behalf of Perry, who later spoke with him on the phone and offered him a role in the Madea Halloween movie.
 

He played Frat Guy Number 10 in the film. The court documents reportedly claim that Perry would invite Rodriguez to his home on multiple occasions to “discuss future work projects.”

Rodriguez alleged that during those visits, Perry would allegedly make sexual advances while they drank, and on one occasion, had grabbed Rodriguez’s penis.
 

The claimant added that he kept telling Perry to stop and physically struggled to get away. Rodriquez claimed that after a final encounter in 2019, he realized that:

“More than ever before, it was clear that Mr. Perry would do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted, to whomever he wanted, no matter how many times he was rejected."

On December 13, 2025, Mario Rodriguez spoke about the ordeal, stating that he wished he had spoken up sooner, adding:

“Because if I had spoken up sooner, I could've saved somebody from what this probably happened to after me. I just wanna say sorry for that, whoever that may be. It could've stopped with me if I had said something. ... But I'm speaking up now."

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