EDM artist Diplo has denied allegations of sexual misconduct that could lead to criminal charges brought by the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office.
In a statement to the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday, Diplo’s lawyer accused a woman, who claims to have been sexually assaulted by the DJ and producer, of launching “a relentless campaign of harassment against” the musician, whose name legal is Thomas Wesley Pentz.
According to BuzzFeed News, a 25-year-old woman filed a complaint with the Los Angeles Police Department in October 2020 accusing Pentz of recording and distributing sexually explicit videos without her consent, as well as knowingly infecting her with chlamydia.
The city attorney’s office told BuzzFeed this week that following a police investigation into the woman’s allegations, it was considering accusing the “Electricity” hitmaker of invasion of privacy and giving intentionally to someone a sexually transmitted infection.
Representatives of the city attorney’s office and the LAPD did not immediately respond to The Times’ requests for comment on Wednesday.
“More lies from the same troubled individual who has been stalking and threatening Wes, his family and friends for years,” Bryan Freedman, attorney for Pentz, told The Times in a statement.
“As is known, this person tried to extort millions of dollars from Wes and, after refusing to pay him a dime, … peddled his lies across the country in a desperate attempt to harm Wesley and others. that he loves, but she will not succeed.
The allegations made in last year’s complaint to the LAPD correspond to the allegations outlined in a separate lawsuit filed by Marchel Gabrielle Auguste in Los Angeles earlier this year.
Court documents accused the Grammy winner of soliciting Auguste for sex when she was underage, raping her and knowingly passing her STIs. When the Los Angeles woman, who dated Pentz, opened up about her “abusive behavior,” according to the complaint, Pentz “hit back at her by posting pictures of her vagina and breasts on social media without her consent “.
Diplo is a powerful figure in the music industry who has collaborated with Justin Bieber, Sia, Britney Spears, Bad Bunny, Madonna, Usher and many more.
“Mme. Auguste fell into the cycle of abuses of Diplo”, we read in the trial of Auguste. “For years, DIPLO was angry with Mme Auguste and belittled her if she did not give in to his demands. ‘would turn on the gas and make her believe it was her fault if he was upset or that she wasn’t making him happy. …
“He knew she was an impressionable and vulnerable young woman, because he had looked after her since she was a teenager. DIPLO knew that Mme Auguste would do whatever DIPLO asked of her to forgive her.
After Auguste obtained a temporary injunction against Pentz in November 2020, the DJ sued her for stalking, trespassing and distributing private material. Artist’s complaint “Thunderclouds” portrayed Augustus as a “relentless and unstable fan” who “entered Pentz’s life with the aim of obtaining intimate and personal information about her in order to gain notoriety and notoriety. with friends, media and social networks. Next. “
Court documents also accused Auguste of using social media accounts to send “sexually explicit photographs and videos of Pentz to his friends and family,” as well as posting a nude photo of the musician on his page. Instagram and spreading “false and offensive rumors”. about it online. Pentz obtained a temporary injunction against Augustus.
This isn’t the only time Pentz has been accused of sexual misconduct. During her appearance on the “Cheapys Two Cents” podcast last year, rapper Azealia Banks claimed she “had sex with Diplo” when she was 17 and accused him of constantly “attacking herself. to young ethnic girls “.
In July, another woman sued the record producer for allegedly forcing her to give him a blowjob and recording it without his consent, according to TMZ.
In a statement to TMZ, Freedman dismissed the lawsuit as “completely outrageous” and “extremely false” while accusing the plaintiff of cooperating with Augustus in carrying out a smear campaign against his client.
“We have irrefutable evidence that this is a totally baseless claim and we will provide it to a court as quickly as possible to put an end once and for all to this agitation by Ms. Auguste and her accomplices,” said Freedman told TMZ. .
