Stand-up comedian Chris D’Elia has been accused of sexual harassment and misconduct, including soliciting nude photos from minors, by a growing list of women this week. His role as a comedian and pedophile in You’s second season in late 2019 has prompted a flurry of allegations from women that his character in the Netflix series mirrors his actual life. On June 16, a woman on Twitter named Simone Rossi began a thread by referencing D’Elia’s You role, tweeting, “I still can’t believe netflix cast chris d’elia as the pedophile in season to of ‘you’ like the literal IRONY.” Rossi followed it up with several rounds of email screenshots allegedly between her and the stand-up when she was 16 years old, which show D’Elia asking Rossi to meet up after his live shows as well as asking her for photos. “For the longest time i thought it was embarrassing for ME that i was interacting with this older man,” Rossi tweeted, “but he was the one who DM’d me on twitter and was the one who was twice my age and was the one that used the power imbalance between us to his advantage so f*ck chris d’elia.” In another tweet, Rossi alleged that D’Elia was aware that she was in high school while communicating with her, “considering my entire instagram was high school football games and spirit days.”
Rossi’s tweet prompted more women to speak out about their alleged encounters with D’Elia, in some cases while they were underage. “Although i’ve been publicly saying it for years, FUCK Chris D’elia. he solicited nudes off of me when i was 17 years old and constantly messaged me whenever he was touring vancouver and asked me to come backstage to his shows,” another woman, @michaelacoletta, tweeted. “I am so unsurprised that multiple girls are coming out with almost the exact story as mine. it’s a known fact he’s a fucking perv and he plays those roles perfectly when acting lmao.”
The allegations against D’Elia continued on the popular @SheRatesDogs Twitter account, which shared multiple screenshots of anonymous women sharing similar stories. One woman alleged that her interactions with D’Elia took place when she was 14 and in middle school, and another alleges that D’Elia used an 18-year-old woman’s nudes in an attempt to blackmail her.
New York has reached out to D’Elia’s representative for comment and will update when we hear back.
Update: D’Elia has addressed the allegations through a statement to TMZ. “I know I have said and done things that might have offended people during my career, but I have never knowingly pursued any underage women at any point. All of my relationships have been both legal and consensual and I have never met or exchanged any inappropriate photos with the people who have tweeted about me,” the comedian told TMZ. “That being said, I really am truly sorry. I was a dumb guy who ABSOLUTELY let myself get caught up in my lifestyle. That’s MY fault. I own it. I’ve been reflecting on this for some time now and I promise I will continue to do better.”
