Diplo is being sued over allegations of revenge pornography.
According to court records, Jane Doe claims she had an intimate relationship with the 45-year-old DJ/producer from 2016 to 2023, and that he distributed sexually explicit images and films of her to third parties.
In the complaint, the New York-based woman alleges that between 2018 and 2023, Diplo, whose real name is Thomas Wesley Pentz, recorded himself having sex with her on numerous occasions without her consent and “disclosed and/or distributed the images and videos to third parties through text messaging and Snapchat.”
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According to the petition, the unnamed woman and Diplo first spoke on Snapchat in April 2016, when she was 21 years old. They exchanged “pornographic images” between April and June 2016, then met in the musician’s New York hotel room in June 2016.
They had an intimate relationship, involving sex, from June 2016 to October 2023.
During that period, Doe made it clear that she “did not want Defendant Diplo recording them engaging in sexual activities without her explicit consent, nor did she want him to distribute images and/or videos to third parties and never gave him consent to do so,” according to the lawsuit.
On some occasions, the unidentified accuser allowed Diplo to videotape them having sex, but she “never gave him permission to distribute those images and videos to third parties and reiterated that he was not to record them without her explicit consent.”
In November 2023, Doe claims she was contacted for the first time by a third party, who informed her that they had “intimate material” featuring her and the “Electricity” artist having sex. Doe was allegedly informed that the unnamed person obtained the obscene photographs and videos of her “genitals, buttocks, and face” on October 14, 2018.
The unnamed accuser submitted a police report on Nov. 7, 2023, and within days, “the NYPD issued a warrant for Defendant Diplo’s arrest for dissemination of intimate images and/or videos depicting” Doe, according to the petition.
“Diplo’s actions represent a severe abuse of power and a blatant disregard for human dignity,” Micha Liberty, a counsel for Doe at Liberty Law, said in a statement. It is critical that we, as a culture, reject such behavior and hold perpetrators accountable.”
Doe’s attorney, Margaret E. Mabie of Marsh Law, stated, “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.”
The NYPD declined to clarify whether Diplo had an outstanding warrant but did say there was an ongoing investigation.
“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,” a Deputy Commissioner, Public Information (DCPI) spokeswoman informed PEOPLE.
Helene M. Weiss, another attorney for Doe from Marsh Law, commented in a statement on the DJ’s “alleged illicit pattern of behavior,” noting that “she’s hopeful that this litigation may catalyze ending the defendant’s repeated victimization of women once and for all.”
This is Diplo’s second accusation for releasing intimate images without consent. He has rejected earlier charges, with one lawsuit dismissed and another proceeding.
Shelly Auguste, who received a restraining order against Diplo in 2020, filed a police report against the artist in August 2023, alleging that he spread nude images without her permission.
According to Pitchfork, the LAPD submitted the case to the Los Angeles City Attorney’s office in November, and it is currently being reviewed. Diplo refuted the charges, which initially surfaced in 2020.
Auguste is currently suing the DJ on charges of sexual battery, gender violence, intentional intrusion into private affairs, battery, assault, defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and fraud, as well as violations of the Ralph Civil Rights Act and the Tom Bane Civil Rights Act, according to the publication PEOPLE stated.
Another unidentified accuser sued Diplo in July 2021, stating that he refused to let her leave the room during an afterparty in Las Vegas until she had oral sex on him and that he may have recorded it. According to Rolling Stone, Diplo disputed the incident and Doe abandoned the claim the following week.