Chris D’Elia has broken his silence on social media, eight months after he was first accused of sexual misconduct.
The comedian has addressed the allegations against him in a new YouTube video, telling fans: “I know it looks bad.”
In the video, the 40-year-old insisted all of his relationships “have been consensual and legal”, but admitted his relationship with sex in the past has been unhealthy.
“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.”
Explaining his previous attitude towards sex, he said: “I would get at least 50 messages after a show each city a night. And I would reply to all of them. And I thought in my mind that being straight-up with these women was the right thing to do.”
“I’d say ‘hey, come to my hotel room and let’s have sex. Let’s make out. Let’s do this, let’s do that.’ And that was what I thought was right.”
Now, Chris realises that he was “treating sex like it’s casual and being flippant with people.”
“And that’s not the guy I want to be, it’s not okay, and I’m sorry for that,” he continued.
“It makes me feel shameful and it makes me feel bad.”
Last June, multiple women, some as young as 16, accused the comedian of sexual misconduct – including sending them inappropriate and explicit messages online.
In a statement at the time, Chris denied claims he ever “knowingly pursued any underage women at any point”.
“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,” he said.
“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.”
Months later, the 40-year-old was accused of exposing himself to three different women in a report by CNN.
In response to the accusations, Chris’ attorney Andrew Brettler said: “D’Elia denies these allegations and emphatically states that he has never engaged in any sexual conduct with any woman without her consent.”
