Chris D'Elia Breaks Silence on Sexual Misconduct Accusations

On Tuesday, comedian Chris D'Elia became a trending topic on Twitter after a woman named Simone Rossi alleged that the comedian exchanged texts and emails with her while she was underage. Several other women, who were either younger than the comedian or underage, also alleged that D'Elia solicited photos and/or sex from them. Now, D'Elia is speaking out on these accusations. According to TMZ, D'Elia denies any wrongdoing, saying that he has "never knowingly pursued any underage woman 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," D'Elia told TMZ. "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." Despite denying any wrongdoing, D'Elia finished his statement by saying that he got "caught up in my lifestyle" and that he will do better in the future. He added, "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's comments come after Rossi, who goes by the username @girlpowertbh, tweeted out screenshots that appear to showcase a conversation between her and the You star. The conversation appears to have taken place in 2014 and features the comedian allegedly requesting a "pic" of Rossi, who was underage at the time. In a subsequent tweet, Rossi indicated that she was 16 at the time of this conversation and alleged that she was "being groomed by a stand-up comedian" who was twice her age. She went on to claim that the two never met up in person and that she later got a boyfriend who was her own age.

Rossi went on to claim in several other follow-up tweets that the comedian used his age to his advantage. She noted that while she was embarrassed to speak about this matter, she thought that it was "a funny story to tell at parties." However, she went on to write that she decided to speak out about this now over concerns that he could still be allegedly engaging in conversations like this. Following the release of her accusations, many others, including some who did so anonymously, spoke up with their own allegations against D'Elia.