Chris D'Elia speaks out about sexual misconduct allegations: 'I do have a problem'
Eight months after Chris D'Elia was accused of sexual misconduct, the comedian is addressing the allegations in a 10-minute YouTube video titled "Its been awhile" shared Friday.
D’Elia started the video by acknowledging his time away from the spotlight noting though he wanted to continue with his business as usual he felt it would be best to take some time to reflect and be with his family. The comedian doubled down on his statement last year and said everything he’s done “has been legal and consensual."
In September 2020, two women came forward to accuse D'Elia of sexual misconduct, alleging the comedian exposed himself to them without their consent. This follows a flood of accusations D'Elia received on social media in June that he'd engaged in inappropriate messaging with teenage girls. The podcast host issued a statement denying the allegations at the time, saying all of his relationships have been legal and consensual.
"I know it looks bad and it doesn’t show the full scope of what happened. I stand by the fact that all my relationships have been consensual and legal and that’s just it. That’s the truth," the "You" actor said in the video Friday.
The "Good Doctor" actor admitted he has a problem when it comes to sex and said he's sought out therapy and professional medical help.
"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," D'Elia said. " It’s not like, months down the line everything’s better. I need to do work on that."
More: Chris D'Elia accused of exposing himself to two women; comedian denies allegations
The comedian also reflected on how casually he treated sex when he first started doing stand-up noting it was easy for him to have because of how many women would message him after his shows.
"I can just do a show and then have sex," D'Elia said adding his perspective has since changed. "Doing that is treating sex like it’s casual and being flippant with people and that’s not the guy I want to be. It’s not OK and I’m sorry for that. It makes me feel shameful and it makes me feel bad."
D'Elia continued saying he's cheated in most of his relationships including the one he's in now with fiancée Kristin Taylor.
"And this is my dream girl, this is the girl I want to be with for the rest of my life and even that wouldn't stop what I was doing," D'Elia said.
He continued: "I have a chance here to apologize, to the people who got caught up in that (expletive). The lies that I would tell my fiancé, my friends... I’m sorry."
In June 2020, accusations that D'Elia has engaged in inappropriate messaging with underage teenage girls flooded social media after Twitter user Simone Rossi accused him of "grooming" her when she was 16.
In a statement to USA TODAY at the time, D'Elia responded to the accusations in a statement: “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. "I have never met or exchanged any inappropriate photos with the people who have tweeted about me."
Three months later, two more women came forward accusing him of sexual misconduct.
D'Elia's attorney, Andrew Brettler, denied the accusations in a statement to USA TODAY.
“D'Elia denies these allegations and emphatically states that he has never engaged in any sexual conduct with any woman without her consent," Brettler said.
Contributing: Hannah Yasharoff and Charles Trepany
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Chris D'Elia addresses sexual misconduct allegations in new video
