Judge Rejects Royel Otis Guitarist’s Bid to Unmask Reddit Users Behind Misconduct Allegations
A federal judge in California has denied a request by Royel Maddell, guitarist for the Australian indie-pop duo Royel Otis, to compel Reddit to identify anonymous users who posted sexual-misconduct allegations about him online.
In a ruling issued late last year, U.S. District Judge William Alsup of the Northern District of California described the application as both “overreaching” and “overburdensome,” concluding that Maddell, whose legal name is Leroy Bressington, failed to meet the legal threshold required to pierce online anonymity.
The dispute stems from a now-deleted thread posted last year on Reddit, where anonymous users accused Bressington of engaging in a sexual relationship with a minor who was allegedly his music student. Other claims in the thread suggested that he had been charged by authorities and dropped by a record label. The allegations circulated at a time when Royel Otis were already facing criticism over the lyrics to their song “Moody,” which some listeners described as misogynistic. The band later issued a statement acknowledging the backlash and apologizing to anyone who felt harmed by the lyrics.
According to court filings, Bressington initially asked Reddit directly to disclose identifying information about the users involved in the thread, including names, IP addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses. After Reddit declined, citing user privacy and legal protections, Bressington sought a court order compelling the company to turn over that data.
Bressington argued that the information was necessary so he could evaluate whether to pursue a defamation lawsuit, particularly if the users were located in Australia. But Judge Alsup found that justification insufficient, noting that Bressington had not actually filed a defamation complaint in any jurisdiction.
“The application does not make clear whether Bressington ultimately would follow through” with litigation, Alsup wrote, emphasizing that the guitarist’s legal team stated only that they would be “prepared to initiate” a lawsuit, not that they definitively intended to do so. The judge suggested that seeking expansive discovery before taking concrete legal steps rendered the request premature.
Alsup also pointed to inconsistencies and omissions in Bressington’s application. While the filing explicitly denied some claims, including that Bressington had been charged by authorities, dropped by a label, or accused by an ex-partner, it notably stopped short of directly refuting the central allegation that he had sex with a minor. That absence, the judge wrote, raised “lingering questions” about the scope and credibility of the request.
“[The application] has not specifically rejected as false one of the most basic assertions alleged,” Alsup noted, calling attention to the seriousness of the accusation and the lack of a clear denial within the court filings.
Courts in the United States have generally set a high bar for unmasking anonymous online speakers, particularly when the requesting party has not yet filed a formal lawsuit. Judges often weigh the right to seek legal redress against First Amendment protections and the potential chilling effect on online speech.
