A new lawsuit accuses producer Diplo of distributing revenge porn.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday by a Jane Doe in California, claims the producer, born Thomas Wesley Pentz, distributed sexual images and videos of her without her consent.
Diplo's representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Diplo is an unlikely producer and DJ who became known for his work with Skrillex, Justin Bieber, and Usher, among many other top-tier artists. He's also a mainstay at both EDM and country festivals, and hosted his own set at the Stagecoach country music festival in April.
The lawsuit alleges that the woman, who lives in New York, had an ongoing sexual relationship with Diplo between 2016 and 2023. “During that time, Plaintiff made it known that she did not want Defendant Diplo to record them engaging in sexual activity without her consent.” explicit. consent nor did she want him to distribute images and/or videos to third parties and never gave him consent to do so,” the lawsuit states.
However, the lawsuit claims that in November 2023, a third party whom Jane Doe did not know beforehand “told Plaintiff that he was in possession of images and videos of Plaintiff and Defendant Diplo having sexual intercourse.”
“Between 2018 and 2023, without Plaintiff’s knowledge or consent, Defendant Diplo recorded himself having sexual intercourse with Plaintiff on numerous occasions and disclosed and/or distributed the images and videos to third parties,” the lawsuit continues. “Defendant Diplo shared the images and/or videos with third parties via text messaging and Snapchat.”
Jane Doe says in the lawsuit that she filed a police report with the NYPD about Diplo in November 2023.
“Plaintiff has suffered and will continue to suffer personal harm from the disclosure and/or distribution of intimate images and/or videos depicting her genitals and face while she was engaged in sexually explicit activities,” the suit continues, citing “extreme and severe emotional distress with physical manifestations, anxiety, depression, and loss of privacy.”
Diplo was previously sued for sexual abuse, distribution of revenge pornography and other misconduct by a Los Angeles woman, Shelly Auguste, in 2021. “DIPLO asked Ms. Auguste to have sex when she was a minor,” her suit alleges. “He later had sex with her, twice, without disclosing to her that he had sexually transmitted infections (STIs), which he gave her. When she spoke out about his abusive behavior, he retaliated against her by posting photos of her vagina and breasts on social media without her consent.”
Diplo denied her claims in a 2021 Instagram post, and in 2022, he won a $1.2 million arbitration ruling that found Auguste's social media posts violated the terms of a mutual restraining order. Diplo's attorney, Bryan J. Freedman, told Pitchfork last year: “Wes will fight back, and just as he has every time Ms. Auguste has defamed, harassed, and attacked him and his family, he will win.”
Auguste's lawsuit against Diplo will go to civil trial in January.
