Comedian and Eminem impersonator Chris D’Elia responds to sexual harassment and misconduct allegations

D'Elia said he has "never knowingly pursued any underage women at any point"

Comedian Chris D’Elia has issued a statement denying the numerous claims of sexual harassment and misconduct that have been made against him this week.

The first allegations against D’Elia were made online on Tuesday (June 16) after a woman named Simone Rossi accused the comedian of “grooming” her when she was 16, while tweeting screenshots of alleged interactions she’d had with D’Elia.

“Imagine being 16 and being groomed by a stand-up comedian twice ur age and the only reason you never met up and never got physically molested was because u had just gotten a boyfriend ur own age,” she wrote on Twitter.

After Rossi’s tweet went viral, numerous other women came forward with further allegations against D’Elia. The Twitter account @SheRatesDogs maintained a running thread of the allegations, which included screenshots of alleged interactions with D’Elia and numerous more accusations of sexual harassment and misconduct.

In a statement first obtained by TMZ yesterday (June 17), D’Elia denied the allegations and said that he had “never knowingly pursued any underage women at any point”.

“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.”

D’Elia has previously made three Netflix comedy specials, including this year’s Chris D’Elia: No Pain, and featured in the Netflix thriller You during its second season.

Last year, D’Elia spoke about meeting Eminem after his impersonations of the rapper achieved huge popularity online.

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