The Baltimore Orioles announced Friday that a July 24th postgame concert by Diplo has been canceled amid allegations of sexual assault against the DJ/producer.
“The Orioles will not hold the upcoming postgame performance on July 24 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards,” the team tweeted Friday. “Fans who purchased field passes with game tickets to the Diplo concert on July 24 will receive a refund.”
While the Orioles did not specify why the concert was called off, the cancellation came just hours after the Baltimore Sun published a scathing letter to the editors questioning how the team could continue with the postgame performance amid the recent allegations against Diplo, including a pair of sexual assault lawsuits filed against him.
“The Orioles always promote being a family-friendly entertainment option in our great city. They also have done great things for women and women’s rights, including celebrating the 100th anniversary of women’s voting rights,” the letter stated. “This is very concerning in light of the news that came out on July 7 that Diplo is accused of sexual assault after he forced a fan to perform oral sex on him after a show in Vegas in 2019, which she has claimed he filmed… If the Orioles are such a family-friendly team, and truly care about women, they need to separate themselves from Diplo and stand up and cancel this post-game concert.”
In another lawsuit filed on June 24th and obtained by Rolling Stone, a woman accused Diplo — real name Thomas Wesley Pentz — of recording their sexual encounter without consent, and then later leaking that footage online. The woman also claimed that Pentz — who she alleged did not tell her that he had sexually transmitted infections — gave her chlamydia and HPV as a result of their sexual encounters.
“Diplo is a highly successful songwriter and record producer. He is also a middle-aged white man who targets very young Black women and girls for sexual assault,” the lawsuit states “Diplo solicited [the plaintiff] for sex when she was underage. Later, he had sex with her, twice, without disclosing that he had sexually transmitted infections (STIs), which he gave to her. When she spoke out about his abusive behavior, he retaliated against her by posting photos of her vagina and breasts on social media without her consent.”
Diplo’s lawyer Bryan Freedman said in a statement Saturday to Rolling Stone, “There is unequivocal evidence that completely refutes what is being claimed. We will be sharing it with the court this week and, once that evidence has been reviewed, the false and malicious nature of this shakedown will be revealed once and for all.”
Freedman continued, “This matter is just another part of the ongoing campaign by one person who harassed him and his family so much so that he had to get a restraining order against her. She continues this collection of lies because he will not agree to pay her money no matter how much negative publicity she wants to spew. The truth is the truth. He will not be extorted or harassed by her any longer.”
Diplo is scheduled to perform tonight, July 10th at Salt Lake City’s Gateway Mall Olympic Plaza.
From Rolling Stone US
