Several women claim that "You" actor Chris D'Elia sexually harassed them when they were minors

Trigger warning: This article deals with sexual harassment and sexual misconduct.

More and more women are making allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct against stand-up comedians and You Actor Chris D’Elia. In You In Season 2, D’Elia played Henderson, a pedophile comedian, and according to testimony from women – many of them underage girls at the time – this was far too similar to the role he played in real life.

The series of allegations began on Tuesday, June 16, when Twitter user Simone Rossi tweeted“I still can’t believe Netflix cast Chris D’Elia as a pedophile in season 2, it’s really IRONY.” She continued in a thread, sharing alleged email conversations between her and D’Elia from 2014.

The first screenshots show D’Elia texting Rossi, who was 16 at the time, and presumably demanding nude photos from him. The next tweet in the thread shows screenshots of a 2015 conversation between D’Elia and Rossi in which they make plans to meet up.

“Imagine being 16 and being courted by a stand-up comedian twice your age and the only reason you’ve never met and never physically harassed each other is because you just found a friend your own age,” Rossi wrote. Rossi also gave a full statement about her experience to People Here.

Imagine you’re 16 and being courted by a stand-up comedian twice your age, and the only reason you’ve never met and never been physically harassed is because you just made a friend your own age. pic.twitter.com/xq7XDrat8i

— simone (@girlpowertbh) 16 June 2020

Rossi also tweeted about the shame she felt before coming out and how she used to think it was just “a fun story to tell at parties.”

for a long time I thought I was embarrassed to be involved with this older man, but he was the one who was direct messaging me on Twitter, who was twice my age and the one who was taking advantage of the power imbalance between us, so screw Chris D’Elia

— simone (@girlpowertbh) 16 June 2020

for a long time I thought this was just a funny story to tell at parties, when I realized that what happened was not normal and that he could do this to younger girls and that it was my job to say something

— simone (@girlpowertbh) 16 June 2020

She also tweeted that she was “definitely not the only underage girl he did this to,” and unfortunately, she seems to be right.

Rossi’s tweets gave many other women the courage to come forward with their own stories about D’Elia.

One user tweeted that D’Elia asked her for nude photos when she was 17 and messaged her to come backstage at his shows. Another user wrote that he “tried to fuck my girlfriend when we were 16” and then blackmailed her to keep quiet. Various accounts also show that D’Elia messaged girls when they were in high school.

although I’ve been saying it publicly for years: FUCK Chris D’elia. He asked me for nude photos when I was 17 and would message me whenever he was on tour in Vancouver asking me to come backstage at his shows.

— Goblin (@michaelacoletta) 17 June 2020

fuck you @chrisdelia. you solicited nude pictures from minors in Vancouver and tried to fuck my girlfriend when you were 16 and when I confronted you about it on Twitter you told her you would ruin her life if I didn’t delete the picture. Absolute pedophile scumbag

— meg (@gap2thed) 17 June 2020

So folks, I pulled up my Facebook Messenger from 2011 and found the direct messages from Chris D’Elia I wrote when I was 17 to be creepy and persistent (more on that in the thread) pic.twitter.com/mGr0IikcJT

— Abby Grillz (@AGrillz) 17 June 2020

The account @SheRatesDogswhich shares stories from direct messages also anonymously shared various allegations against D’Elia. “Unfortunately, an account like mine exists because women know that any time they speak out about harassment or assault, they are accused of doing it to get attention,” @SheRatesDogs tweeted. “Nobody really wants the ‘attention’ that comes with it, they just want their stories/experiences to be heard.”

D’Elia denied the allegations in a statement to TMZand said that at no point did he “knowingly solicit underage women.” He continued, “All of my relationships were legal and consensual and I have never met or exchanged inappropriate photos with the people who tweeted about me.” He ended the statement by saying that he was “truly sorry” and that he had “been thinking about this for some time.”

If you are a victim of sexual assault and need help, you can National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 to speak with a trained counselor. You can also chat with a counselor online HereBoth services are available 24 hours a day.