Tyler Perry Joins Georgia Governor-Elect's Transition Team as Assault Suits Loom

Keisha Lance Bottoms won Georgia's governor race Tuesday night and wasted no time assembling her team. Early Friday, at a press conference, she named Tyler Perry to her transition crew — calling him an entertainment mogul, a major philanthropic force in Georgia, and the owner of Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta.

The pick lands with a thud for some. Perry, the filmmaker behind the Madea franchise, is currently fighting two sexual assault lawsuits. Bottoms framed him as a community pillar; the court filings tell a messier story.

Actor Derek Dixon sued Perry in June of last year, alleging repeated sexual battery and assault stretching back to 2021. In the suit, Dixon claims Perry used his power and influence to molest, abuse and sexually assault vulnerable employees and actors who came to him for mentorship. He's asking for $260 million and a jury trial.

A second case arrived in December 2025. Mario Rodriguez, who appeared in Perry's comedy-horror film 'Boo! A Madea Halloween,' filed a $77 million sexual battery suit against Perry and distributor Lionsgate. Rodriguez alleges unwanted sexual advances, sexual battery and sexual assault, and claims Lionsgate turned a blind eye to the alleged behavior. Perry's side has pointed to friendly text messages exchanged between the two men after the alleged misconduct.

Bottoms brings her own deep Georgia résumé to the job — Atlanta City Council, then mayor of Atlanta, then a senior advisor and director of the White House Office of Public Engagement under former President Biden. Her win itself is history: she becomes the first Black woman elected governor of any U.S. state, and Georgia's first Black governor.

She takes the oath as Georgia's 84th governor on Jan. 11, 2027. Perry's role on the transition team is already drawing scrutiny, and the lawsuits against him are still working their way through the courts.