Prosecutors in Los Angeles are looking into charges against Diplo, following claims that the producer recorded and distributed explicit video of a woman against her consent and infected her with chlamydia without her knowledge. A spokesperson for the Los Angeles City Attorney’s office confirmed to Vulture that the office was looking into a referral from police, with “no further comment.†BuzzFeed News reported that the referral comes from an October 2020 complaint outlining the allegations to the Los Angeles Police Department. The City Attorney’s office is reportedly considering charges of invasion of privacy and intentional exposure to a sexually transmitted infection, both misdemeanors, against Diplo, a.k.a. Thomas Wesley Pentz. An attorney for Diplo, meanwhile, dismissed the report as “more lies†in a statement to Vulture, calling Diplo’s accuser a “disturbed individual†and claiming she has been harassing the musician. “She has been peddling her lies around the country in a desperate attempt to harm Wes and those he loves, but she will not succeed,†added Bryan Freedman, Diplo’s attorney.
Per BuzzFeed, the LAPD investigation included looking into a sexually explicit video posted on Twitter by an anonymous account in October 2020 that was reportedly sent to accounts expressing support for the unnamed woman, after she tweeted about an experience with Diplo. The woman previously filed for a restraining order against Diplo in November 2020 regarding that video, with her attorney claiming the account that shared it was associated with the musician. An attorney for Diplo denied wrongdoing at the time, telling outlets, “In no way has my client violated any law.†The musician previously filed for his own restraining order against this woman, claiming she had distributed explicit images of him, although both orders have since lapsed.
The woman also reportedly claimed Diplo raped her in Las Vegas in 2019, although BuzzFeed reported that Las Vegas police did not file charges on that allegation. This woman is one of two individuals who have claimed Diplo coerced them into performing sexual acts and filmed them against their consent. At one point, Diplo faced two separate lawsuits over the allegations, but one of those lawsuits was later dropped.
Update 4:30 p.m.: Diplo isn’t waiting for the discovery period to start entering evidence in the court of public opinion. On his Instagram, Diplo posted texts and an all-caps defense of himself that claims the woman is a scammer who threatened the suit if he did not play “MILLIONS OF DOLLARS.â€