DJ and producer Diplo, whose real name is Thomas Wesley Pentz, is facing another lawsuit for allegedly distributing revenge porn. This marks the second accusation against him within the past year.
The latest suit, filed in California on Thursday (Jun. 27, 2024), comes from an unidentified woman referred to as Jane Doe. She claims to have had an intimate relationship with Diplo from June 2016 to October 2023. According to the complaint, their relationship began after they started chatting on Snapchat in April 2016, when she was 21 years old. By June, she was invited to Diplo's Manhattan hotel room, beginning a years-long intimate relationship.
Jane Doe alleges she discovered last November that Diplo had been distributing explicit images and videos of their encounters without her consent. She states that she had explicitly told Diplo not to film or distribute any images or videos without her approval.
In a disturbing twist, in November, another woman contacted Jane Doe to inform her that she had explicit videos of Doe, which Diplo had sent over Snapchat in October 2018. She immediately reported Diplo to the New York Police Department, resulting in a warrant for his arrest.
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This isn't Diplo's first brush with such accusations. In 2020, Shelly Auguste also accused the DJ of sexual assault and distributing revenge porn. Diplo responded with his own lawsuit, claiming on Instagram that Auguste was a “stalker” engaged in a baseless smear campaign.
Auguste later filed another report in August 2023 with the Los Angeles Police Department, alleging that Diplo distributed nude photographs of her. The case has since been submitted to the Los Angeles attorney’s office for review.
“Tragically, this is not the first time the defendant has shamed and violated a woman by disseminating intimate images without her consent,” said Doe’s attorney, Helene Weiss, of Marsh Law Firm. “Diplo’s alleged illicit pattern of behavior illustrates the harm he’s caused Jane Doe and other young women like her. Our client deserves justice, and she’s hopeful that this litigation may serve as a catalyst in ending the defendant’s repeated victimization of women.”
Micha Liberty of Liberty Law added, “Revenge pornography is an abhorrent violation of privacy and trust, inflicting profound emotional trauma on victims like Jane Doe. Diplo’s actions represent a severe abuse of power and a blatant disregard for human dignity.”
Margaret E. Mabie, partner at Marsh Law Firm, emphasized the broader cultural implications, saying, “Rampant repeated sexual abuse by the rich and famous is deeply embedded into the entertainment industry. Our brave client’s story is one of Diplo’s many worst-kept secrets, and filing this case is her first step toward civil justice.”
