Diplo Hit With Restraining Order in Alleged Revenge Porn Case

A judge granted a restraining order against Diplo on Monday, November 16, amid his alleged revenge porn case.

The “Genius” singer, 42, was hit with the temporary order three days after a woman named Shelly Auguste filed her petition for protection against Diplo (real name Thomas Wesley Pentz).

Auguste’s attorney, Lisa Bloom, issued a statement on Wednesday, November 18, regarding the protection order after her client made “serious misconduct allegations” against the DJ last month.

“We have reviewed her allegations, spoken to several other women, and find her and the other women to be credible,” the statement read.

Auguste, 24, tweeted about her relationship with Diplo in October, claiming that he “filmed her having sex without her permission and that he preys on young women.”

Diplo Hit With Restraining Order in Alleged Revenge Porn Case
Diplo attends the Latin Grammy Awards in Las Vegas on November 15, 2018. MediaPunch/Shutterstock

According to her attorney, “other women began reaching out to her with their own stories about him.” Shortly after, a new Twitter account posted a recording of the text exchange between Bloom’s client and Diplo along with a photo of her genitals.

“We believe that act of revenge porn was done to frighten and intimidate our client and other women from coming forward. That photo, she alleges, was only in the possession of two people: herself and Diplo,” the statement continued.

Bloom noted that “regardless of how someone obtains explicit images, it is illegal to post or distribute them without the consent of the person depicted. Our client maintains that she absolutely did not consent to this post.”

Following the incident, Bloom requested on Friday, November 13, that the Los Angeles Superior Court issue a temporary restraining order against the “Looking for Me” singer.

In the restraining order request document, obtained by Us Weekly, Auguste revealed that she met Diplo when she was 17 and he was 36. She detailed their sexual relationship, noting that after their initial March 2018 meeting she “lost my virginity” to the musician around April 2019 after feeling “pressured” by him. She claimed that the pair “regularly exchanged sexually explicit photos,” which she said she “trusted” Diplo with.

Auguste said that she drifted apart from Diplo in March 2020, but the following month he contacted her asking if she had been trying to speak with his child’s mother, which she denied. She said that she was contacted by a private investigator in June 2020, in order to “scare me into remaining silent about our relationship.”

“We requested that he be ordered to cease and desist distributing sexually explicit photos of our client, identify everyone he has sent explicit photos of her, turn over all sexually explicit photos of her, identify where he has posted sexually explicit photos of her, and immediately remove any sexually explicit photos he has posted of her on social media or elsewhere,” the attorney said in the statement.

As of Monday, the court ruled that all of the alleged victim’s requests were “all granted” and the restraining order was issued.

“The Court went even further, banning Diplo from distributing explicit images of our client without ‘express written permission’ from her or from the court, and that he ‘shall identify and remove any such images previously posted or distributed,’” the statement concluded, noting that the musician has “denied the allegations” through his attorney.

A hearing is set for December 8 on the issue of a permanent restraining order.

The Mississippi native came under fire last month after TikTok star Quenlin Blackwell told her fans that she was living with Diplo. The 19-year-old star later clarified her statement, tweeting that she is “an adult” and that she is “not being groomed.”

She continued: “I’ve been living here for over a year…I’d rather break both of my legs and be forced to walk than pursue Diplo romantically and he’d rather choke. Diplo has given me the opportunity and the security to create. Diplo and his team are my mentors in LA and they are my safety net.”

Diplo also spoke out about his relationship with the former Vine star, tweeting in October that he rents her one of his properties. “Yes I use the studio that is in her building,” he explained. “Her social media is sarcastic and chaotic and I can see you can get a twisted idea but there is nothing but a friendship between us.”

The “Set Me Free” singer has three sons. He shares Lockett, 10, and Lazer, 6, with ex Kathryn Lockhart and Pace, 8 months, with model Jevon King.

Us Weekly has reached out to Diplo for comment.

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source: usmagazine.com