Diplo is facing possible sexual assault charges.
On Tuesday, Buzzfeed revealed the LA city attorney’s office is investigating claims against the celebrity DJ and is considering pressing charges of invasion of privacy and intentionally giving someone an STI.
The investigation stems from complaints made back in October 2020 by a 25-year-old woman named Shelly. Shelly claimed that Diplo— real name Thomas Wesley Pentz— recorded sexually explicit videos of her without consent and allegedly distributed at least one of those videos. She also says he gave her chlamydia while knowing he was infected and raped her after one of his concerts in Las Vegas.
Shelly also filed her own lawsuit in June, claiming the producer “targets very young Black women and girls for sexual assault.” Shelly filed seeking damages for alleged sexual battery, assault, defamation, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Following the Buzzfeed expose, Diplo has responded to the allegations, taking to Instagram to state that Shelly stalked him and “scammed” her way into his life. He says Shelly tried to extort millions of dollars from him and is now going after him because she “didn’t get what she wanted”.
This is not the first time Shelly has spoken out about her alleged experience with Diplo.
Last October, Diplo was accused of grooming 19-year-old influencer Quen Blackwell. The rumours started after Quen posted a series of TikTok videos featuring Diplo, announcing, “I live with Diplo right now, and he fully supports my endeavours.” She also seemed to imply that she was living at Diplo’s house rent-free.
The clip immediately drew concern from fans who noted the 22-year age difference may indicate an inappropriate relationship between the two. And though Diplo and Quen both shut down these rumours, multiple women came forward claiming the DJ tried to groom them from a young age, including Shelly.
At the time, Shelly claimed that Diplo hired a private investigator to scare her into staying silent after she had a disagreement with the artist. She said she has “disgusting details” on Diplo and that the PI threatened her.
She also wrote that Diplo preys primarily on women of colour, a sentiment echoed across Twitter by many alleged victims at the time.
Following Diplo’s denial today, Shelly has taken to Instagram stories to share screenshots that allegedly show the DJ has been deleting and unliking messages from their DMs, possibly in an attempt to get rid of any evidence that he was friendly with Shelly.
While some fans are expressing their support for Diplo on social media, an overwhelming number of women and people of colour are rallying behind Shelly to help shed light on her story.
It is unclear when the LA city attorney’s office will make a decision on pressing charges.