Diplo has filed to claim $1.2 million in damages from a woman he accused of violating a restraining order after their sexual relationship ended.
The DJ and producer —real name Thomas Wesley Pentz—had accused the woman of being a "stalker" and harassing his family, including the mother of one of his children.
The musician sued Shelly Auguste in 2021 and their case went to confidential arbitration.
After seven days of proceedings, the arbitrator ruled in Diplo's favor and ruled he should be paid a little more than $1.2 million to cover damages and legal costs.
Diplo's legal team filed a request to the Los Angeles Superior Court to order her to pay.
In the request to the court, Diplo's attorney stated that "the Arbitrator finds that Auguste's credibility is lacking" and she also had a "previous history of stalking."
"On many occasions, her testimony about the circumstances of her relationship with Pentz was materially different from the documentary evidence presented…The record evidence contains significant inconsistencies that raise concerns about the believability of much of Auguste's testimony," Diplo's attorney Bryan Freedman declared in the court filing.
In the court filing, which has been provided to Newsweek, Freedman highlighted Auguste's history of harassment and stalking, and how "the Judge on record expressed unease about Auguste's perceived lack of respect for authority and ordered Auguste undergo a mental health evaluation."
"We are all extremely pleased for Wes [Diplo] and his family. What happened here is simple," Freedman said in a statement provided to Newsweek.
"The arbitrator looked at all the facts. She evaluated the evidence impartially. And justice prevailed."
Newsweek has contacted representatives of Auguste for comment.
Diplo and Auguste had a short-lived fling in 2019, which consisted of "a night of consensual sex" and some text messages in the months after, but things turned sour and he accused her of harassment and stalking.
Diplo's legal team described Auguste as an "obsessive and unstable fan" who wanted to make money from her relationship with him.
After their fling, the pair took out temporary restraining orders against each other before filing for permanent restraining orders in early 2021 after their lawyers negotiated the joint agreement over the terms of the restraining orders.
The DJ accused Auguste of violating some of the terms of the restraining order, including making disparaging remarks about him and his family online.
She had accused him of posting an intimate photo of her to Twitter and also made remarks about the mother of his children and girlfriend at the time.
Diplo's successful arbitration was not the start of their legal entanglement.
Auguste has also sued Diplo for sexual battery and gender violence, including forcing her to perform a sex act on him.
Auguste also accused Diplo of distributing illicit images of her online and according to his lawyer's court submission said the musician had posted a video and an intimate photo to a Twitter account by the name of Jeanne Yang on October 28, 2020.
Diplo spoke out against Auguste's accusations in a lengthy Instagram post and described "a nightmare of almost three years of her harassing and threatening me and my family and my friends."
"It was my goal to never address a stalker," he wrote.
"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.
"To be clear, SA [Shelly Auguste] was not a minor when I had conversations or sexual intercourse with her. Her own text messages admit this."
Diplo also alleged Auguste had sent him negative texts about Jevon King, the mother of his third child, born in 2020.
"This is so frustrating and embarrassing," Diplo wrote. "I am not this person and I won't be extorted by anyone no matter how stinging the press can be.
"Even over the past two years I've never been bothered by these rumors, if anything it has made me stronger and smarter, all of my friends and partners have never questioned me and that was what has been important to me.
"The people in my life know me for who I really am. I will continue to do everything I can to end this in the most respectful way but I will not give in to lies and harassment."
Update 10/10/22, 3:25 a.m. ET: This article has been edited and updated with a new headline.
Update 10/10/22, 6:25 a.m. ET: This article's headline has been further updated for clarity.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Shannon Power is a Greek-Australian reporter, but now calls London home. They have worked as across three continents in print, ... Read more
