Popular TikTok personality Tony Lopez has been accused of knowingly soliciting and sexually abusing two teen girls. The lawsuit filed in a Los Angeles court alleges that the viral influencer used his fame to manipulate the girls, coercing sexual favors in an echo of previous accusations brought against him.
A TikTok Star in Trouble
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of two teenaged girls identified anonymously as H.L. Doe and C.H. Doe, reports People and other outlets.
“This case arises out of injuries suffered by minor Plaintiffs after they were lured, persuaded, coerced and groomed to either engage in physical sexual acts and/or send illicit and obscene child pornographic images of themselves, to Defendants, as a result of Defendants’ illegal acts,” the lawsuit reads. “Tony Lopez knew that H.L. Doe, C.H. Doe, and other victims not named in the Complaint, were minors.”
The suit claims that the now 21-year-old Lopez had multiple sexual encounters with H.L. in January of 2020, despite believing that she was 16 years old. The encounters reportedly continued even after the teen confessed to Lopez that she was actually 15.
Meanwhile, C.H. reportedly met and exchanged numbers with Lopez in April 2020 during a visit to the Hype House — the Los Angeles home to a collective of TikTok stars. The suit alleges that Lopez then began harassing the 16-year-old in the weeks following, coercing her to perform sexual acts and exchange explicit photos — again knowing that she was underage.
“Tony Lopez acknowledged numerous times the fact that C.H. Doe was a minor and would commonly tell her to ‘stop being 16 [years old],’ among other references to the fact that she was underage,” the suit says.
The suit also charges Hype House co-founders Thomas Petrou and Chase Hudson with negligence. Neither have responded to press requests for comment.
A Pattern of Abuse?
In July of 2020, the influencer faced similar accusations after screenshots surfaced that seemed to show him soliciting nude photos from a 15-year-old girl. The ensuing scandal caused Lopez to lose an endorsement deal with beauty company Bliss.
In August, Lopez tweeted a statement claiming he had been misled.
— Tony Lopez (@lopez__tony) August 23, 2020
“I am still new to entertainment/LA scene, and I am quickly learning that you can’t believe everything that you are told,” he wrote. “Once I found out the truth, I immediately stopped.”
The accusations, however, did not stop, with one viral video alleging that Lopez had invited more underage girls to the Hype House to engage in inappropriate contact.
*SERIOUS* Tony Lopez gets exposed again for allegedly sexting and grooming a minor. This alleged victim allegedly went to the Hype House and met with Tony. This is the 6th minor to come forward alleging Tony Lopez had inappropriate contact with them. pic.twitter.com/hmF34KVbtS
— Def Noodles (@defnoodles) October 30, 2020
Lopez’s brother, fellow TikToker Ondreaz Lopez, has also faced similar allegations of abuse. In June of 2020, a Twitter user identifying themselves as Al claimed that Ondreaz had assaulted them while they were traveling together for a dance competition.
Ondreaz denied the allegations, while his brother Tony vocally supported him on social media, claiming Al’s account as fraudulent.
“We have friends that know about the situation that even came to me saying [Al] is lying. I will provide screen shots when I get them.”
Tony Lopez has responded to the latest allegations against him with a statement to the press denying any wrongdoing.
“These allegations are not at all true. I never sent nudes to these women and didn’t ask them to send me pictures either,” he said. “And I certainly wouldn’t have sex with someone who told me they were underage. This whole thing seems like a money grab to me. I’m going to fight it to the very end. I will not allow them to continue to slander my name and attack my character.”