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Diplo Issues Statement Over Sexual Misconduct Allegations

Diplo Issues Statement Over Sexual Misconduct Allegations

The star, whose real name is Thomas Wesley Pentz, shared a lengthy response on Instagram.

Jess Hardiman

Jess Hardiman

Diplo has issued a statement over the sexual misconduct allegations he has recently been hit with, having claimed he had a 'stalker'.

Yesterday (6 October), it was reported that the EDM star, whose real name is Thomas Wesley Pentz, may face criminal charges over allegations of rape and sexual assault.

BuzzFeed News reported that a 25-year-old woman filed a complaint with the Los Angeles Police Department back in October 2020, in which she accused the artist of recording and sharing explicit videos without her consent, also claiming he knowingly infected her with chlamydia.

The city attorney's office told the outlet that it is considering charging Pentz, 42, with invasion of privacy and intentionally giving someone a sexually transmitted infection.

Pentz has now shared a lengthy response on Instagram, captioning the post: "Here's a story about how a stalker scammed her way into my life and tried to extort me for millions and then sued me when she didn't get what she wanted."

Instagram/Diplo

In the statement, Pentz said: "I will keep this story easy to read because I know the internet has a short attention span."

Referring to the accuser as SA, also claiming the woman was a 'stalker', Pentz said: "She was an obsessed fan of mine, and after I relinquished all contact with her, it appears that her only purpose in life has been to disrupt my work, my business, harass me and my close friends and attack me and threaten my family."

He claimed 'SA' was 'not a minor' when he 'had conversations or sexual intercourse' with her, claiming 'her own text messages admit this' and that their sexual encounters were 'consensual'.

After exchanging messages and small talks for a few months, Pentz said things became 'too much to handle' and he 'stopped contact' with her.

"I had a night of consensual sex with her," he said.

Alamy

"Basically, SA reached out to me and I declined a few times but at one time decided to meet her. After that experience, we had exchanged texts for a few months, there was small talk, sexual flirting, she would send me pics and videos...

"Eventually it got too much to handle and I stopped contact with her when I realized she had started to become obsessed with me, it began a nightmare of almost three years of her harassing and threatening me, my family and my friends."

He continued: "SA would offer her friends and other people to have sexual experiences with, and that's when I began to get suspicious that she was engaging in criminal activity," he said, also sharing alleged screenshots of their exchanges.

Pentz added that he would 'continue to do everything I can to end this in the most respectful way but will not give in to lies and harassment'.

Featured Image Credit: Alamy

Topics: Celebrity, News, crime