The 45-year-old disc jockey, through his attorney, alleges that a woman named Shelly Auguste attempted to orchestrate 'an ongoing smear campaign against' the artist.
- Dec 8, 2023
AceShowbiz - Diplo has accused a woman of orchestrating a "smear campaign" against him after she accused him of distributing revenge porn. The 45-year-old DJ is the subject of a new police report filed by Shelly Auguste, who first took legal action against him in 2020, in which she has again claimed he shared nude photos of her without consent and she is suing him for sexual battery, gender violence, intentional intrusion into private affairs, battery, assault, defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress and fraud, as well as violation of the Ralph Civil Rights Act and violation of the Tom Bane Civil Rights Act, Pitchfork reports.
According to the outlet, the woman went to police in August "to report that she was the victim of Revenge Porn" and last month, LAPD submitted her report to the Los Angeles city attorney’s office, where it is currently under review. Auguste claimed she went to police on the day a woman contacted her on Instagram and told her she had six nude photos of her, which she alleged were "the photographs that either [Diplo] took or that she had given to him."
Her police report added, "[Accuser] believes that [Diplo] is distributing the nude photographs because he is mad at her for recently filing legal action against him. She stated that he wants to harass and embarrass her."
She was granted a new temporary restraining order against the producer on September 18, while Diplo, whose real name is Thomas Wesley Pentz, had his own request for a similar order denied. The accuser said in a statement, "I think it's time the music industry stops enabling the perpetual abuse that occurs. I have been silenced for far too long. I hope that with this restraining order I can finally gain peace and protection. I hope that with the criminal investigation, the justice system gets it right this time."
Diplo's attorney argued Auguste has been "orchestrating an ongoing smear campaign against [Diplo]" for more than three years. Bryan Freedman said in a statement, "Ms. Auguste has already been the subject of a restraining order, the violation of which resulted in an arbitrator's ruling and a court judgment of more than $1.2 million in damages because of her misconduct."
"Her recent attempt to enlist a co-conspirator to shake down [Diplo] in a bogus lawsuit fell apart within days when indisputable evidence disproved her story, and the case was dismissed. Now, Ms. Auguste is at it yet again. But [Diplo] will defend himself, and, just as he has done every time Ms. Auguste has defamed, harassed and attacked him and his family, he will win," the attorney added.
In July 2021, the woman first went to police to accuse Diplo of recording and distributing sexual content without her permission. He denied the allegations in a lengthy Instagram post and later sued for stalking, trespassing, and distributing private materials, arguing the woman was "dangerously unstable" and had "made relentless efforts to communicate with him" after their relationship ended.
The pair had signed a dual restraining order agreement, in which they agreed not to disparage each other but in September 2022, Diplo was awarded $1.2 million after an arbitrator determined the deal had been broken by Auguste's social media posts. A civil trial is scheduled for April 2024.
