A US judge has denied royel otis’ guitarist’s request to unmask the confidential data of Reddit users in a now-deleted thread that alleged he had a sexual relationship with a music student who was a minor.
Per the AFR, Royel Maddell – real name Leroy Bressington – had his request denied on December 24th. He intended to get the names, email addresses, and phone numbers of the users, and if they were based in Australia, his legal team were “prepared to initiate” an action.
The allegations on Reddit began after the release of royel otis’ single “Moody”, which quickly gained backlash for its lyrics, with criticisms of misogyny largely over the chorus line, “My girl’s a bitch when she’s moody.” The band allegedly deleted online comments calling them out for it.
The pair – Maddell and singer Otis Pavlovic – issued a statement following the song’s release. “This song is written from a specific perspective, it is not intended to convey a broader view or standpoint about women in general,” they said. “We apologise if anyone understood those lyrics otherwise.”
Court documents said the song “proved to be a hit but also fodder, because of its song lyrics, for anonymous people on the Internet” who allegedly labeled Maddell a sexual “predator” who had engaged in a nonconsensual sexual relationship with a minor while he was her music teacher.
The District Court judge, William Alsup, noted that nowhere in Bressington’s application did he deny allegations of having a sexual relationship with a minor; the only allegations he denied are that an ex-partner accused him of sexual misconduct, that he was charged by authorities, and that royel otis were dropped from a record label.
Maddell has not yet filed any complaints regarding the matter in Australia. Rolling Stone AU/NZ has contacted royel otis’ PR for comment.
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