‘You’ Star Chris D’Elia Accused of Sexually Harassing and “Grooming” Underage Girls

UPDATE: Chris D’Elia responded to the sexual harassment allegations on Wednesday afternoon in an interview with 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,” he said. “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. 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.”

Actor and comedian Chris D’Elia has been accused of sexually harassing multiple underaged girls. In a Twitter thread, user Simone Rossi shared screenshots of an alleged conversation between herself and D’Elia from 2014, when she was 16 years old, and wrote that she was “groomed” by the stand-up comic. Rossi also highlighted the “irony” of D’Elia’s role in You Season 2, in which he plays a pedophile.

Decider has reached out to D’Elia for additional comment. Netflix declined to comment on the allegations, but Decider has confirmed that D’Elia’s character, who dies in the second season, will not appear in You Season 3.

Last night, Rossi, who goes by the handle @girlpowertbh, posted screenshots depicting a conversation between herself and someone who appears to be D’Elia. The July 2014 conversation appears to show D’Elia requesting “a pic” from Rossi, who says she was just 16 at the time. “I still can’t believe Netflix cast Chris D’Elia as the pedophile in Season [2] of You like the literal irony,” she wrote in the thread.

In subsequent tweets, Rossi wrote that she was “groomed by a stand up comedian twice [her] age,” but never met up with the comic because she ultimately got “a boyfriend [her] own age.” She added that D’Elia “was the one who DM’d me on Twitter” and “used the power imbalance between us to his advantage.” Wrote Rossi, “I am also definitely not the only underage girl he did this to … Fuck you Chris D’Elia and also Netflix I highly doubt casting this creep as a pedophile was a coincidence.”

D’Elia appears in You Season 2 as Joshua “Henderson” Bunter, a well-known stand-up comedian. Henderson is revealed to be a violent pedophile, and when Joe (Penn Badgley) sees him drug his 15-year-old neighbor’s drink, Joe knocks him down the stairs, killing him.

Shortly after Rossi’s Twitter thread went viral, other women voiced similar allegations about D’Elia. The She Rates Dogs account shared a screenshot of a conversation about D’Elia in which an anonymous user claims that “in early 2018,” the comic “exposed himself” to a female hotel employee who was called to fix his AC unit. Another user alleged that D’Elia “solicited nudes from minors in Vancouver and tried to fuck my friend when we were 16.”

UPDATED 6/17/2020 AT 2:55 P.M. ET: This story has been updated to include D’Elia’s statement and additional information about You Season 3.

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