Tyler Perry Moves to Shield Private Texts in $77M Assault Suit

Tyler Perry is seeking court protection for private text messages exchanged with associates, arguing that the communications should remain confidential in his ongoing legal battle with Mario Rodriguez, according to court documents obtained by TMZ.

Perry states that he turned over the messages to Rodriguez as part of the litigation but maintains they were intended to stay private under a prior agreement between the parties. According to the filings, some of the conversations address financial matters, which Perry cites as a reason the messages should not be disclosed publicly.

The director further argues that he and the associates involved in the exchanges believed their conversations were confidential and that Rodriguez has no right to release them. Perry contends that these individuals have no connection to the case at hand and that public disclosure of their messages would result in unnecessary annoyance and embarrassment.

Rodriguez has not yet responded to the issue in his own court filings.

The underlying lawsuit, first reported by TMZ, seeks $77 million in damages. Rodriguez alleges that he met Perry in 2015 at a gym, a meeting that led to a role in Perry's film "Boo! A Madea Halloween." In the suit, Rodriguez claims that Perry assaulted him during a visit to Perry's home in 2018, alleging that Perry asked whether he liked oral sex and then grabbed him. Rodriguez further claims that Perry gave him $5,000 and apologized.

The complaint also alleges that Perry forced Rodriguez's hand onto Perry's penis during another hangout, which Rodriguez says led to another payment of $5,000.

Perry and his company have denied all allegations of wrongdoing. Perry has claimed that Rodriguez continued communicating with him after the alleged incidents and only turned against him when he stopped providing financial assistance.

This is not the first pretrial dispute between the parties. As TMZ previously reported, Perry fought in court over whether he would have to answer questions about his sexuality during his deposition. At that time, Perry's attorney Alex Spiro told TMZ that the entire legal battle amounted to a "shakedown."