A Los Angeles woman has filed a restraining order against Diplo, or Thomas Wesley Pentz, county court records show. Attorney Lisa Bloom, who represents the plaintiff, said she sought “to block Diplo from distributing revenge porn” allegedly “designed to humiliate her and to scare other women out of coming forward.”
“I am representing [redacted] regarding her claims against Diplo,” Bloom said. (The Daily Beast is withholding the woman’s name to protect her privacy). “I’m very proud to represent her. As with all clients, we put her through an elaborate vetting process which she cleared. I find her to be very credible and to have corroborating evidence in support of her claims.”
Last month, the woman tweeted a thread accusing the EDM artist of grooming her, and hiring a private investigator to contact her following an argument between them. She called the gesture an attempt to “scare” her out of discussing “the disgusting details” she knew about him.
“The private investigator stated to me that he knew my address, he knew my parents address, he knew my place of work as well as my parents place to work,” she wrote in the thread. “Take that as you may but most people will take that as a threat.”
She also alleged that Diplo, 42, had filmed sexual activity without her permission. “I SPECIFICALLY asked him not too & his reply was ‘fuck it. I’m recording this,’” she tweeted.
Following the thread, a user posted a naked picture of the woman on Twitter. The photo came from what Bloom and the accuser believe to be “a front account and a fake account” operated by Diplo or someone acting on his behalf. “She alleges in her declaration in support of the restraining order that the only person that had that picture other than her was him,” Bloom said.
Representatives for Diplo did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
“I never had the will or intention to expose Diplo being that I did not want all the years I invested into speaking & hanging out with him to go in vain….or end nasty,” the woman wrote on Twitter. “But I slowly started to realize he is a huge manipulating liar / gaslighter who PREYS young women of ALL races (to be honest) but primarily young naive women of color.”
In preparing the legal filing, Bloom said she spoke to three other women with similar allegations against Diplo. “Witnesses are important in every case,” Bloom said. “We are happy to speak for free and confidentially to any girls or women who also may have something against Diplo. We have spoken to a number of them so far and we’re continuing our investigation.”
Bloom has an extensive and polarizing track record on sexual-abuse cases. The Bloom Firm founder and former anchor of the truTV cable series Lisa Bloom: Open Court, represented several women in their sexual harassment claims against Bill O’Reilly in 2017. That same year, she advised Harvey Weinstein in his myriad legal battles for sexual assault and harassment—a role that her mother, famed women’s rights lawyer Gloria Allred, openly criticized. “Had I been asked by Mr. Weinstein to represent him,” Allred told The New York Times, “I would have declined.”
Bloom said she anticipates a decision from the judge on Monday afternoon or Tuesday. A restraining order hearing is scheduled for Dec. 7 in Los Angeles, court records show.
“You have NO idea how scary it is to have anxiety when my doorbell rings unexpectedly,” the woman wrote on Twitter. “When I go out feeling like I can’t post where I am. Feeling like I’m being watched. All because of the PI contacting me using method of intimidation.”
Following publication, a lawyer representing Diplo provided comment to The Daily Beast: “To be clear, in no way has my client violated any law. In fact, he has repeatedly made it clear that he wants nothing whatsoever to do with this person.”
