Photo Credit: Jose Morales
The Baltimore Orioles have cancelled an upcoming Diplo performance amid sexual assault allegations.
The team tweeted on Friday that the July 24 performance at Oriole Park at Camden Yards is cancelled. “Fans who purchased field passes with game tickets to the Diplo concert on July 24 will receive a refund,” the tweet reads.
The Baltimore Orioles did not specify why the concert was cancelled. But the cancellation came just hours after the Baltimore Sun published a scathing letter to the editors asking how the team could continue with the concert.
“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 begins.
“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 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.”
Diplo is accused in a lawsuit of recording a sexual encounter with a woman and releasing it online. The woman also alleges that she received sexually transmitted infections, including 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 obtained by Rolling Stone reads.
“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 says the allegations made in the lawsuit is “part of an ongoing campaign by one person.” He says the lawsuit is an attempt to extort his client into paying. “He will not be extorted or harassed by her any longer,” says lawyer Bryan Freedman.
Whether the allegations are true or not, the Baltimore Orioles want nothing to do with Diplo. It’s interesting to see an organization respond to criticism so fast too, since the event was cancelled the same day the letter was published.
