Diplo is being sued in a civil case for allegedly breaking “revenge porn” laws by distributing sexually explicit videos and images of an ex-partner without her consent.
What Was Mentioned In The Complaint Filed Against Diplo?
In a complaint filed Thursday in a Los Angeles federal court, an anonymous Jane Doe accuser alleged that DJ Thomas Wesley Pentz, known as Diplo, recorded their sexual encounters and shared the content on Snapchat without her knowledge or consent.
“Plaintiff brings this action to recover for the emotional and physical injuries she endured because of Diplo’s actions and to make sure no one else is forced to suffer the privacy invasions and physical and mental trauma she felt and continues to feel to this day,” wrote the woman’s attorney.
In her complaint, the woman states that she had a consensual sexual relationship with DJ Diplo from 2016 to 2023. During this period, she claims she occasionally allowed Diplo to record their sexual activities but never permitted him to share the images and videos with others. She emphasized that he was not to record them without her explicit consent. “Plaintiff trusted defendant Diplo and believed that he would respect her wishes to keep their sexual images and videos confidential and that he would not record them having sex without her consent,” wrote her lawyers.
However, last fall, the woman alleges that she was contacted by someone claiming to have images and videos of her and Diplo engaging in sexual activity. She asserts that these materials, allegedly shared on Snapchat five years earlier, showed her “genitals, buttocks, and face,” as well as her voice. Following the incident, Jane Doe reported Diplo’s actions to the New York Police Department, which subsequently issued a warrant for Diplo’s arrest for disseminating intimate images and videos of her.
In 2022, when Congress reauthorized the Violence Against Women Act, lawmakers introduced a federal law for the first time that prohibits the disclosure of “intimate” images without the depicted individual’s consent. The lawsuit alleges that Diplo violated this provision, as well as a previous revenge porn law established by the state of California.
In an email to Billboard, the NYPD confirmed that a report had been filed and that an active investigation was underway. However, they declined to comment on the claims of an arrest warrant, stating, “There is a criminal complaint on file for unlawful dissemination for a suspect with the name of Thomas Pentz which is currently being investigated by NYPD detectives.”
Other Cases Against The DJ
This case is not Diplo’s first accusation of abuse. In 2020, a woman named Shelly Auguste sued him, alleging that he coerced her into having sex and then shared footage of the encounter without her consent. His attorneys dismissed the claims as a “smear campaign” and counter-sued her for stalking, trespassing, and distributing private materials. In 2022, Diplo won a $1.2 million judgment against Auguste after an arbitrator ruled that she had violated a mutual restraining order prohibiting either party from discussing the dispute publicly.
In another incident, the DJ was sued in 2021 by an anonymous woman who alleged that he forced her to perform oral sex at an after-party in Las Vegas in 2019. However, just a week later, the woman dropped the case without receiving a settlement and expressed regret for filing the lawsuit.
Statement Made By Diplo’s Lawyers
In a statement on Friday, Diplo’s attorney Bryan Freedman strongly denied the new allegations, citing the previous lawsuits as context. “In every case where there has been an allegation of improper conduct made against Wes, the result has been either an immediate dismissal of a bogus lawsuit coupled with an apology, a court-ordered award for Wes in excess of $1.2 million, or the slow demise of an obvious shakedown attempt that has gone absolutely nowhere,” said Freedman. “Time and again, Wes has been targeted by a group of untrustworthy individuals and their unscrupulous lawyers, cobbling together falsehoods in search of a meritless payday. This suit seems to be just more of the same, which is why we have no reason to believe that this will end any differently than all the others.”
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