YouTuber Chris D’Elia returns to platform amid sexual misconduct claims

Stand-up comedian and YouTuber Chris D’Elia has made a return to the platform eight months after news broke of sexual misconduct allegations being made against him by five women.

D’Elia, 40, announced his return in a ten-minute video entitled “It’s been awhile”, wherein he addressed some of the allegations made against him.

With two of the alleged victims being 17 and in high school at the time Chris, then 36, was communicating with them, he said in his video: “I know its been a while since you guys have heard from me. I put out a statement when the news broke saying that everything I had done had been legal and consensual and that was true, and I wanted that statement to speak for itself.”

He continued: “I wanted to talk immediately afterwards, post online and do my podcast business as usual but I thought that might not be the best thing.I thought the best thing would be to be with my family and take a long hard look at myself.”

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Admitting that he “knows how it looks”, D’Elia emphasized in the video that he “stand[s] by the fact that all [his] relationships have been consensual and legal.”

He also revealed that he has a sex addiction, saying: “During this time away, I’ve seeked a lot of medical advice and therapy. I realized that sex controlled my life. It was my focus all the time. I had a problem.”

What allegations were made against Chris D’Elia?

Five women came forward in June 2020 to accuse D’Elia of sexual impropriety. Two of the alleged victims — Julia Holtzman and Simone Rossi — were 17 years old and in high school when D’Elia first begun initiating contact with them.

In interviews with the Los Angeles Times, Julia, Simone and three other women all alleged that D’Elia would begin by being initially flirty before conversations and situations quickly escalated.

One account described how, upon inviting two fans to his hotel room, he exposed himself to them in a bid to get them to sleep with them.

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Another 19-year-old fan alleged that Chris said he would only meet her if she performed oral sex on one of his friends.

After the allegations came to light, D’Elia issued a statement to TMZ, wherein he said that he had “never knowingly pursued any underage women.”