In a statement shared with Pitchfork, one of Jane Doe’s attorneys, Micha Star Liberty, called the lawsuit “a vital step towards justice, highlighting the necessity of protecting the rights of those who have been exploited.”
Another of Doe’s attorneys, Helene M. Weiss, added, “Our client deserves justice, and she’s hopeful that this litigation may serve as a catalyst in ending the defendant’s repeated victimization of women once and for all. We cannot allow survivors of image based sexual abuse to be silenced.”
Diplo’s attorney, Bryan J. Freedman, said in a statement to Vanity Fair, “Time and again, Wes has been targeted by a group of untrustworthy individuals and their unscrupulous lawyers, cobbling together falsehoods in search of a meritless payday.” He continued, “This suit seems to be just more of the same, which is why we have no reason to believe that this will end any differently than all the others.”
Last year, a California woman named Shelly Auguste filed a police report with the Los Angeles Police Department against Diplo, alleging that the musician distributed nude photographs of her without permission. According to Vanity Fair, the Los Angeles city attorney’s office said “the matter was deemed unable to prosecute.”
Auguste has been involved in a legal battle with Diplo since 2020, and she has twice accused him of distributing revenge porn. Diplo was also not charged criminally over the first allegation of revenge porn distribution.
Auguste is also suing Diplo for sexual battery, defamation, and more. She filed her lawsuit in 2021, leading Diplo to deny her allegations. A civil trial is scheduled for January 2025, per Vanity Fair.
Diplo, in turn, is suing Auguste for stalking, trespassing, and distributing private materials. The lawsuit, filed by Diplo in April 2021, alleges Auguste to be “dangerously unstable,” and claims she “made relentless efforts to communicate with him” after he ended their relationship, including through fake social media accounts.
In a statement shared last year with Pitchfork, Bryan J. Freedman said, “For more than three years, Shelly Auguste has been orchestrating an ongoing smear campaign against Wes—and this is just more of the same.”
Freedman added, “Now, Ms. Auguste is at it yet again. But Wes 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.”
If you are being sexually harassed, you can report it to the authorities at your job, school, or local law enforcement. For more information go to https://www.rainn.org/ThatsHarassment