Influencer Quen Blackwell Herself Denied Being Groomed by Diplo

In April 2023, digital comedian and social media influencer Quen Blackwell spoke with office Magazine about her years-long rise to the top of the viral mountain.

Although she technically began making videos at age 9, which she did not recommend doing, her first breakout video happened in 2014 when she was just 14 years old. Since then, Blackwell has been carving out a much-needed space in the virtual comedy world — though some of the attention she has received is less than ideal.

In October 2020, Blackwell revealed that she was living with then 41-year-old DJ, Diplo. Blackwell was only 19 at the time, which caused social media to accuse the successful music producer of grooming the lesser-known but still talented comic.

Was something nefarious really going on, or is it yet another example of strangers thinking they know better? Let's get into it.

After Blackwell casually dropped that she was crashing with Diplo, the content creator did what she did best. She created a series of hilarious TikToks titled "Living with Diplo" and continued to pull back the curtain on their roommate situation.

Unfortunately, some people decided that their friendship was wildly inappropriate and started accusing the music producer of grooming the younger entertainer.

When asked how they met, Diplo tweeted that the duo had "made music together."

Cyber sleuths began digging through his old tweets looking for a history of similar behavior and when fans wouldn't give up, Blackwell and Diplo addressed them directly.

In November 2020, Blackwell uploaded a brief but effective TikTok where she screamed, "I'm not having sex with a 41-year-old man" in response to a commenter who wrote, "Is the pipe that good."

According to PEOPLE, Blackwell took to Twitter to put an end to all the gossip.

"I'm an adult. I'm not being groomed. Platonic relationships exist," she wrote. "I've been living here for over a year. I'd rather break both of my legs and be forced to walk than pursue Diplo romantically. And he'd rather choke. He's barley [sic] in LA bc he's so busy," said Blackwell.

She also added that he and his team are mentors to the newly transplanted Angeleno who had just moved from Dallas, Texas. He was supporting her creative endeavors by providing the young artist with a place to stay.

Diplo also clarified via some tweets of his own. Echoing what Blackwell wrote, Diplo said he was renting one of his properties to Blackwell, which also shares space with his studio.

"As a landlord, I don't really consider age or race as a qualification. You just gotta pay security deposit," he said. The "Express Yourself" DJ also reminded people that Blackwell's comedy style is sarcastic and chaotic, which could contribute to people misunderstanding their friendship.