Diplo is accused of distributing nude photos of a woman in what the American DJ's lawyer says is a “continuing smear campaign” against him.
In the latest installment of Diplo's legal battle with a California woman, she accuses the musician of distributing her nude photos without consent.
Shelly Auguste, 27, previously accused the 45-year-old Mississippi music artist of sexual battery, assault, defamation and fraud in a lawsuit filed in 2021.
Thomas Wesley Pentz, known professionally as Diplo, then sued Auguste in Los Angeles Superior Court and won $1.2 million after claiming she threatened to release revenge porn and repeatedly made unwanted contact with the mother of his child and other family members.
In her new case, which was filed by the LAPD with the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office in November, Auguste is charging the musician with an extensive list of alleged crimes.
Diplo is accused of distributing nude photos of a woman – Shelly Auguste – in what the American DJ's lawyer says is an “ongoing smear campaign” against him.
Shelly Auguste, 27, previously accused Mississippi DJ, 45, of sexual battery, assault, defamation and fraud in a lawsuit filed in 2021
The charges include sexual assault, gender violence, intentional invasion of private affairs, assault, battery, 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.
Diplo's attorney, attorney Bryan J. Freedman, did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com's request for comment, but said Pitchfork: 'For over three years, Shelly Auguste has been orchestrating an ongoing smear campaign against Wes and this is just more of the same.
'Now Mrs. Auguste is at it again. But Wes will defend himself, and just as he has done every time Ms. Auguste has slandered, harassed and attacked him and his family, he will win.”
In 2020 – Diplo previously fired back at Auguste when she filed for a restraining order, accusing him of spreading revenge porn by seeking an injunction herself, claiming it was her who leaked his nudes.
The DJ claimed that his accuser published nude photos of him on social media and sent them some of his ex-lovers, including the mother of his children.
Auguste first published the allegations on Twitter in October 2020. Shortly after, a nude photo of her appeared on the site published by a user she said was acting on behalf of the DJ in an attempt to “humiliate” and silence her lay.
Auguste successfully obtained a restraining order to stop the artist from distributing any more “revenge porn.” A judge also ordered Diplo to identify anyone he allegedly sent the images to and to obtain “express written consent” from his accuser to further distribute the images.
Attorney Lisa Bloom, who previously advised Harvey Weinstein, represented the accuser in 2020.
Bloom said: 'We are pleased to announce that by order dated November 16, 2020, the court has ordered that our requests are “all granted” and that the restraining order has been issued.'
Thomas Wesley Pentz, known professionally as Diplo, then sued Auguste in Los Angeles Superior Court and won $1.2 million after claiming she threatened to release revenge porn and repeatedly made unwanted contact with the mother of his child and other family members.
In 2020, Diplo fired back at Auguste when she filed for a restraining order and accused him of spreading revenge porn by seeking a court order herself, claiming it was her who leaked his nudes
Attorney Lisa Bloom represented Diplo's accuser
Freedman has been representing the celebrity since 2020 – at the time of the restraining order, the lawyer said: “To be clear, my client has not broken any law in any way. In fact, he has repeatedly made it clear that he wants nothing to do with this person at all.'
Auguste's first accusations claimed Diplo “hunted” her after the two first hooked up when she was 17 years old and he was 36.
The court article states: 'Defendant sent me a message on Twitter. I was shocked and excited because Respondent is a well-known DJ, record producer and songwriter.
“After communicating via Twitter, we exchanged phone numbers and Snapchat usernames. I was 17 years old when we met and the defendant was 36 years old.”
They didn't meet until March 2018, but “regularly exchanged sexually explicit photos, videos and messages,” the complaint said. They reportedly had sex for the first time in April 2019.
In the documents, the woman adds: “I was blindsided and shocked when Defendant sent me unsolicited videos of him having sex with other women in or around October 2018.
'I sternly told the defendant that I did not want him to ever film us engaging in sexual activity.'
After claiming to have been contacted by a private investigator hired by the DJ, the woman says she felt “threatened and intimidated.”
In her Twitter thread on October 26, Auguste claimed that Diplo had taken explicit images of her without her consent, writing: “I SPECIFICALLY asked him not to do that either and his response was 'f*** it.' I'm recording this.”
The current charges against Diplo include sexual assault, gender violence, intentional invasion of private affairs, assault, battery, defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress and fraud.
Auguste's initial allegations claimed that Diplo “hunted” her after the two first hooked up when she was 17 years old and he was 36 years old.
When Auguste initially sought a restraining order against Diplo, she identified herself only as “Shelly” on her Twitter profile
The thread Shelly posted about Diplo on October 26, 2020 is shown in full above
She also claimed he hired a private investigator to contact her after they got into an argument, saying he wanted to “scare her” so she wouldn't share the “disgusting details” she knew about him.
“The private investigator stated to me that he knew my address, that he knew my parents' address, that he knew both my workplace and my parents' workplace,” she tweeted.
“Take that any way you want, but most people will take that as a threat.”
In another tweet, Auguste wrote: 'I never had the will or intention to expose Diplo because I didn't want all those years I invested in talking and dealing with him to be in vain… or annoying end.
“But I slowly started to realize that he is a huge manipulative liar/gaslighter who hurts young women of ALL races EVER (to be honest), but especially young, naive women of color.”