Royel Otis Guitarist Fails in Bid to Identify Redditors Behind Sexual Misconduct Allegations

An Australian court has denied a request by Royel Otis guitarist Royel Maddell to identify anonymous Reddit users who accused him of sexual misconduct, marking a setback in his effort to pursue possible legal action.

Court records show that Maddell, whose real name is Leroy Bressington, asked the US District Court for the Northern District of California to force Reddit to reveal names, email addresses, and phone numbers linked to a now-deleted thread on the r/triplej subreddit.

The posts alleged that Bressington had a sexual relationship with a minor who was also his music student. On December 24, a judge rejected the request.

The case traces back to May, when Royel Otis faced online criticism following the release of their song "Moody."

While the track became a hit, some listeners objected to its lyrics. Around the same time, the Reddit thread appeared, making serious claims about Bressington.

Those posts were later removed, but the allegations continued to circulate online.

In October, Bressington sought a subpoena in the US, where Reddit is based, saying he wanted to identify the users so he could consider a defamation lawsuit, Stereogum reported.

According to the court docket, his legal team said they were "prepared to initiate" legal action if the users were found to be based in Australia. However, the application did not clearly state that a lawsuit would definitely be filed.

Court documents describe how the song "Moody" became "fodder" for online commenters who allegedly labeled Bressington a sexual "predator" and accused him of a nonconsensual relationship with a minor.

The judge, William Alsup, noted a key issue in the request. He pointed out that Bressington did not directly deny the core allegation of having a sexual relationship with a minor in his filing.

Court Rejects Bid to Unmask Reddit

Instead, Bressington denied other claims, including that an ex-partner accused him of misconduct, that authorities charged him with a crime, or that Royel Otis were dropped by a record label.

The judge highlighted that this lack of a direct denial weakened the request to unmask anonymous users.

Bressington has not filed a defamation lawsuit in Australia or elsewhere related to the Reddit allegations. The court's decision means Reddit will not be required to share user information at this time.

According to TheMusicNetwork, Royel Otis previously addressed backlash over "Moody" in a joint statement, saying, "This song is written from a specific perspective, it is not intended to convey a broader view or standpoint about women in general."

They added, "We apologise if anyone understood those lyrics otherwise."

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