A 33-Year-Old Influencer Has Been Accused Of Abusing His 16-Year-Old Girlfriend In A Viral Video
The LAPD has opened an investigation against actor and influencer Ray Diaz after disturbing videos appeared to show him verbally and physically assaulting an underage girl, who later confirmed that she was his girlfriend at the time.
The police department confirmed to BuzzFeed News the case against Diaz, who has 3.1 million followers on Instagram, is still active and being investigated.
On July 5, a disturbing clip was posted to 17-year-old Angelica Salek’s Instagram account.
In the video, a man who is alleged to be Diaz can be heard screaming, threatening Salek with violence, and hitting her. The clip was deleted, but it’s since been re-uploaded to other various social media accounts, including by YouTuber Keemstar on his most recent DramaAlert episode.
View this video on YouTube
In the episode, Keemstar also included a lengthy interview with Salek, who said she was emotionally and physically abused in the yearlong relationship with Diaz. She began dating the YouTuber when she was 16.
“I was just so scared always because he would be yell at me always,” she said. “…It was my fault if somebody would ever have any suspicions that him and I were dating. He would yell at me for hours.”
She also described a recent incident, on July 3, when Diaz forced her to hide in the box spring of his bed when police arrived searching for her.
“I had to be quiet and not make a sound,” she said.
On July 6, Diaz responded to the release of the first video, claiming that he and Salek were simply “acting.”
“It was fake. It is acting lessons, and it does sound crazy, but it is an acting bar,” he told TheHollywoodFix.com during a recorded FaceTime interview. “It’s something you learn in acting class if you studied in New York City. It’s just screaming and yelling and I do this before every single audition with Angelica just to get the juice flowing — the emotions flowing.”
Salek later told Keemstar that she was coached by Diaz to go along with this narrative when she posted a video to Twitter. She said she was coerced to lie, and tell everyone that her mom stole the clip from her phone and posted it publicly to manipulate the situation.
“That was a lie that Ray and I made up to try to cover the situation. It was real,” she said. “It was such a tough situation because I wanted to help him and I was feeling guilty, and I didn’t know what to do in the situation.”
She said she has since filed a restraining order against Diaz. BuzzFeed News has reached out to Salek.
On Thursday, a member of the DramaAlert team posted another clip of the two to social media, this time stating it’s the complete leaked footage.
In the video, a man purported to be Diaz is heard calling Salek a “bad person.” He threatens to punch her, and tells her to “kill [her]self” and “die.”
Salek is heard crying as he continues to violently berate her.
Over the past week, people online have expressed worry and support for Salek. On her Instagram she said she’s “home safe,” but some are not fully convinced.
Some are commenting advising people to remain “skeptical” in the event that Diaz still has control over her life and social media accounts.
Salek told Keemstar she wants justice for Diaz’s actions.
“I hope and pray that something does happen here — that he does get put away. I don’t want this to happen to any other girl,” she said.
On Friday, the LAPD announced via Twitter that they are “aware of several social media posts related to a social media personality, alleging physical abuse and sexual relations with a minor.”
“We take these allegations seriously. Currently, the department has directed a group of investigators to look into these allegations,” they tweeted. A commanding officer of the department told BuzzFeed News they have no further comment or updates at this time.
Diaz nor his team responded to a request for comment from BuzzFeed News. He has since privatized his Instagram account.
Tanya Chen is a social news reporter for BuzzFeed and is based in Chicago.
Contact Tanya Chen at [email protected].
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