Comedian Chris D’Elia accused of sexual harassment, ‘predatory’ behavior

Chris D’Elia is being accused of sexually harassing multiple women, including some underage girls.

The 40-year-old comedian, who appears on Netflix’s show You and has a special for the streaming service, was accused on social media of sexually harassing multiple women. There are accusations he tried to meet up with some of them for sex or asked for nude photos, as well as other “grooming” claims. His behavior was described by one accuser as “predatory.”

D’Elia has not publicly addressed the claims. Yahoo Entertainment reached out to his last listed publicist, who said they parted ways when the coronavirus pandemic hit. She did not provide contact info for his new rep. Yahoo Entertainment has also reached out to his manager and will update this story if there is a response.

The accusations came about after a woman named Simoné Rossi wrote on Twitter that she “still can’t believe Netflix cast” D’Elia “as the pedophile” in Season 2 of You. “Like the literal irony.”

In the long thread, which quickly went viral, she went on to share screenshots of conversations —which began in 2014, when she says she was 16 — in which she claims the divorcee asked for nudes.

And, Rossi claimed, as the DMs continued into the next year, he was “grooming” her. However, she noted that she was “never physically [molested],” which she attributed to the fact that she started dating someone her own age around that time.

She said her feelings over what happened have changed over the years, leading to her speaking out.

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She also claimed she was not the only one, which resulted in other allegations being made against D’Elia.

Several other women shared stories about D’Elia contacting them when they were underage. The account @SheRatesDogs has been compiling them, including several from unidentified women.

Abby Grills publicly claimed D’Elias direct messaged her when she was 17, sharing screenshots of the conversation.

Other women shared stories publicly as well, including Toronto comic & TV writer Olivia Stadler. She said she was 21 when they connected on Twitter and D’Elia asked her to hang out. She was excited to meet her role model, but prior to meeting, he changed the venue, trying to get her to come to his hotel room. She declined.

Comedian Emma Arnold was warned not to send him nudes because “he made them into memes” and showed them “to other male comics at shows.”

Comedian/actress/writer Leah Knauer said D’Elia asked for nudes when she was 19. They did meet up and she described him “predatory” and “scary.”

Netflix has not yet responded to Yahoo Entertainment’s request asking about whether D’Elia will remain part of the You cast and if his special with continue streaming.

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