Comedian Chris D’Elia, 40, has been accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women on Twitter, who claimed he sent them inappropriate sexual messages when they were underage. Eight months after the allegations first came to light, which he denied, Chris opened up in a February 19 YouTube video titled, “It’s been awhile.” He began, “I know it looks bad. What I have come to understand is, this was always about sex to me. My life was — I mean, sex, it controlled my life. 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.” He also noted that his relationships were both “legal and consensual”.
The comedian denied all allegations against him in a June 2020 statement shared with HollywoodLife: “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 wrote. “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.” Here’s what else you should know the standup comedy heavyweight and star of shows like Whitney and You.
1. He broke into the standup comedy scene in 2006.
Chris decided to try standup comedy at age 25, after dropping out of New York University and struggling to find work as an actor. As it turns out, it was the right career move. Chris is the star of four standup specials: White Male Black Comic aired on Comedy Central in 2013; Incorrigible (2015), Man On Fire (2017), and No Pain (2020), all aired on Netflix. Chris has cited comedians Jim Carrey, Bryan Callen, Eddie Murphy, and Mitzi Shore as his biggest influences.
2. He considers himself a “comedian who acts” rather than an actor.
Despite that distinction, Chris has made a major name for himself on TV. After scoring a main role on the 2010 series Glory Daze, he starred opposite Whitney Cummings on her sitcom Whitney. From there, his star power rose. Chris played Danny Burton on Undateable, and appeared on shows like Workaholics and Typical Rick. He had a memorable recurring role on season 1 of The Good Doctor, and currently stars as Henderson on the Netflix series You.
3. He’s also a popular podcast host.
Chris hosted the fan favorite Ten Minute Podcast, along with comedians Bryan Callen and Will Sasso from 2012 to 2015. He started his weekly podcast, Congratulations with Chris D’Elia, in 2017. He posts podcast tapings on his YouTube channel, which boasts 525,000 subscribers.
4. He has a famous father.
Chris is the son of Bill D’Elia, a noted screenwriter, producer, and director. Bill directed episodes of shows like Doogie Howser, M.D., Beverly Hills, 90210, Grey’s Anatomy, and so many more. He wrote the entirety of the series Judging Amy, along with the 1989 film The Feud, as well. And, he directed all of Chris’ standup specials.
5. He released a parody rap album.
Chris went by the pseudonym “MC Chank Smith” for the 2013 album, called Such is Life. He had another connection (real this time) to rap. He scored the praise of Eminem himself for doing a perfect impression of the rapper in a series of videos recorded from his garage and in his car. It was so spot-on that Logic sampled him in his 2019 track, “Homicide”. He even appeared in Logic’s music video.