Chris D’Elia’s comedy career came to a screeching halt in June 2020 when he was hit with multiple accusations of sexual misconduct, including allegations that he was sexually harassing underage girls.
After being dropped by the powerful CAA agency and having a Netflix standup special cancelled, D’Elia released a 10-minute YouTube video on Saturday to make his first public comments on the allegations since issuing a statement back in June.
“I know it looks bad,” said D’Elia in the video, which he titled “It’s been awhile.”
While he contended that he still stood by his original statement, in which he insisted that all his sexual relationships “have been consensual and legal,” he admitted he’s come to an uncomfortable realization.
“What I have come to understand is, this was always about sex to me. My life was — I mean sex, it controlled my life,” he said.
“It was the focus. It was my focus all the time. And I had a problem, and I do have a problem… I need to do work on that.”
According to D’Elia, as his fame grew, “having sex got a lot easier… I felt lucky. I felt like, ‘Oh wow, I don’t need to work as hard. I can just do a show and then have sex.’ Or roll into a city and look at my inbox and then just start writing. And I did. I wrote, you’ve seen some of the messages online, there’s way more than that. I would get at least 50 messages after a show each city a night, and I would reply to all of them.”
He had come to realize, he added, that he was “treating sex like it’s casual and being flippant with people,” something that now left him feeling “shameful.”
He added, “And that’s not the guy I want to be. It’s not okay and I’m sorry for that.”
He continued by confessing he that his celebrity status gave him an edge, and he took full advantage. “I would use the familiarities that I had with these women to have sex. I was like, ‘They already know me.’ I didn’t have to do the extra work,” he explained. “It’s something that just became life controlling. I would think about it all the time.”
Sex came to consume his thoughts, and he said he didn’t know “how to stop.” At the time, “I didn’t even think I had a problem… I thought that guys in my position were lucky enough and fortunate enough.”
At the time the allegations emerged, D’Elia issued 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,” 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.”
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