Amid Tyler Perry’s sexual assault lawsuit, text messages surfaced showing continued contact between Perry and actor Mario Rodriguez, despite Rodriguez’s claims that their interactions ended years ago.
Rodriguez, who appeared in Boo! A Madea Halloween filed a lawsuit last week in California seeking $77 million in damages as he accuses Perry of sexual assault, sexual battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The alleged assault occurred between 2014 and 2019.
In the lawsuit, Rodriguez also claims he stopped contacting Perry in 2019. Despite him cutting off Perry, Perry reportedly kept reaching out occasionally. However, newly revealed screenshots obtained by The Associated Press suggest the two were still communicating years later, and that Rodriguez was the one to reach out to Perry.
The messages include a Thanksgiving 2024 text in which Rodriguez expressed gratitude to Perry. He thanked Perry for his support when he was going through a rough time and even told him he appreciated him “to the moon,” according to the screenshots.
Based on the screenshots, the pair were communicating again on August 31, 2025, when Rodriguez opened up about health struggles, a lack of health insurance, and deep financial stress. In the messages, he reportedly told Perry he was scared and struggling to cope.
Reports say that the screenshots were sent to the press by a source close to the situation. The source requested their name not be mentioned because they did not have authorisation to publicly discuss the situation.
When the lawsuit was filed, Perry’s legal team wasted no time responding. Perry denied the allegations, and his attorney, Alex Spiro, dismissed the lawsuit as financially motivated. “I said it before, and I will say it again,” Spiro said in a statement. “This is nothing but a $77 million money grab scam.”
The controversy surrounding Tyler Perry does not end there, since this marks the second lawsuit against him, and both plaintiffs are now represented by the same attorney, Jonathan Delshad. In June, actor Derek Dixon filed a lawsuit in California state court claiming he was groped by Perry. Dixon alleges that he was working on Perry’s television series The Oval and Ruthless when the incident happened. Perry, who resides in Georgia, strongly rejected Dixon’s allegations. The lawsuit was later transferred to federal court in Georgia.