A US federal judge has rejected an attempt by a member of Royel Otis to compel Reddit to disclose the identities of anonymous users who made allegations of sexual misconduct with a minor against him online.
The application was filed by the Australian duo’s guitarist Royel Maddell – real name Leroy Bressington – following a now-deleted thread posted last year on the r/triplej subreddit.
In the thread, some users alleged that Bressington had a sexual relationship with a minor who was also his music student. The allegations surfaced around the same time as the backlash concerning controversial lyrics in their 2025 single ‘Moody’.
The track drew accusations of misogyny, particularly for the line: “My girl’s a bitch when she’s moody.” Both Maddell and singer Otis Pavlovic issued a statement addressing fans’ reservations following the song’s release, saying: “This song is written from a specific perspective, it is not intended to convey a broader view or standpoint about women in general. We apologise if anyone understood those lyrics otherwise.”
Court documents later said the song “proved to be a hit but also fodder, because of its song lyrics, for anonymous people on the internet” who allegedly labelled Maddell a sexual “predator” who had engaged in a non-consensual sexual relationship with a minor while he was her music teacher.
Royel Otis. Credit: Zora Sicher
Back in October, Bressington had asked the District Court of Northern California to order Reddit – which is headquartered in San Francisco – to hand over confidential user information including names, email addresses and phone numbers.
He said the information was required so that he could “contemplate” legal action for defamation. Late last month (December 24), the court denied the subpoena request, per Rolling Stone Australia.
According to the court docket, Bressington intended to pursue a defamation case only if the Reddit users were based in Australia. However, the filing did not explicitly state that a lawsuit would be brought, saying only that his legal team was “prepared to initiate” proceedings.
District Court Judge William Alsup observed that Bressington did not deny having a sexual relationship with a minor in his application. Rather, he denied claims that an ex-partner accused him of sexual misconduct, that he was charged by authorities, or that Royel Otis had been dropped from a record label.
“As only one indication among others, Bressington has not specifically rejected as false one of the most basic assertions alleged: that when not a minor he had sex with a minor,” court documents read. “Again, open questions linger, but while nothing now squarely limits the statutory authority to assist, much already informs the exercise of that authority in accord with sound discretion.”
Bressington has not filed any formal complaint in Australia in relation to the allegations. NME has reached out to Royel Otis for comment.
For more help, advice or more information regarding sexual harassment, assault and rape in the UK, visit the Rape Crisis charity website. In the US, visit RAINN.
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