DIIV bassist Devin Ruben Perez has been accused of racism, sexism and homophobia after a Tumblr account dug up a series of questionable posts he posted on 4chan. The Sexism In Music blog published Perez's alleged comments, in which he calls Grimes "physically repulsive", Jake Gyllenhaal "the biggest fucking faggot ever" and Zomby "a nigger" and "the biggest troll ever". 

On Twitter, frontman Zachary Cole Smith promised that he was investigating the remarks:

Sky Ferreira, Smith's girlfriend, has also lent her support to Perez on Twitter. The bassist has tried to draw a line under his comments, declaring that he just said "some dumb shit on an anime message board":

He also posted a screengrab of his original 4chan post, insisting his comments were taken out of context.

Sexism In Music also highlighted some of Perez's other choice remarks, including his assessment of Perfect Pussy frontwoman Meredith Graves' attractiveness ("Not my type AT ALL. Sorry. 1/10").

Perez also commented on a discussion over Grimes' criticism of Ariel Pink (she called out his "delusional misogyny"), labelling her a social justice warrior – the 4chan user's choice of demeaning epithet for any feminist who dares to have an opinion. 

He wrote of Pink: "Grimes called him a racist and misogynist? He kind of is though, in an endearing way. I’ve had it up to here with SJWs, jeez."

Zomby, for the most part, doesn't seem bothered. "I don't even know who he is," he told Dazed.

The controversy may prove to be a difficult one for the band to reconcile, but what do you think? Is this just "some dumb shit said on an anime messageboard" or evidence of a more deep-rooted bigotry?

UPDATE: DIIV has just released an official statement. Read it below. 

“Cole doesn’t stand for any bigotry, hatred, sexism racism or homophobia, especially when it’s manifest in his own band. Cole and Devin are discussing what happened and his future in the band. Devin acknowledges what he did is very wrong. 4chan is a poisonous place. It’s the bowels of the internet. A place where Devin lost sight of what’s remotely appropriate and what isn’t. Racial slurs and sexist remarks are practically what comprise the entirety of the site. It’s important to examine the context of his comments, not to excuse them, but rather because it is a place that breeds, proliferates, and encourages dark and violent ideologies disguised as humor.

It needs to be exposed. It’s lurking just beneath the surface and it’s everywhere. Every journalist covering this story has a responsibility to expose 4chan for what it is. But regardless of the context, what Devin said is inexcusable. It will not be tolerated in the band or anywhere. But ultimately Cole and Devin are very close friends so this is a very hard thing for him to swallow, seeing such unexpected behavior like this from such a close friend. It is not being tolerated and is being dealt with right now.”