What’s up guys, it’s Emile Ennis Jr. back here with Clevver News, and ‘You’ star
Penn Badgley is speaking out on the sexual misconduct accusations against comedian Chris
D’Elia.
Chris D’Elia is one of many troubling cases of alleged sexual assault brought to light
by victims over the past few weeks.
I’m going to break down all the details surrounding Chris’ allegations, but before
I get into it, I just wanted to issue a trigger warning as we will be talking about heavy
topics, like sexual assault and grooming of minors, so please only continue watching if
you feel comfortable doing so.
Multiple women, as young as 16 years old at the time, accused him of trying to engage
in sexual encounters via social media, claiming that he would send them inappropriate messages
and attempt to solicit photos from them.
One Twitter account detailed many different allegations brought forth by different women,
who detailed unpleasant and uncomfortable experiences with Chris.
Many of the girls who spoke out, revealed that they would simply message Chris after
a comedy show saying how much they enjoyed it, which led him to respond back asking them
if they wanted to come over and “cuddle” him, among other disturbing requests.
Chris released a statement to TMZ last week denying the allegations, writing QUOTE, “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.
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.”
However, he did apologize for some past actions he neglected to mention, saying, “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.”
Since last week, many outlets have confirmed that Chris has been let go from his talent
agency and management company as a result of the allegations.
For those of you unfamiliar with Chris’ work, he’s most commonly known for his standup
comedy, but most recently he’s made appearances in numerous TV shows, including the second
season of Netflix’ hit series You.
Ironically enough, Chris stars as a comedian who lures underage girls and sexually abuses
them in You Season 2.
He also played a pedophile who pursues young boys in the Comedy Central series Workaholics.
Many celebrities who have worked closely with Chris have spoken out upon hearing the allegations,
including his You co-star Penn Badgley.
Penn stars as mysterious, yet charming murderer Joe Goldberg, who befriends Chris’ character
that sexually assaults young women who come to him for professional advice.
Penn recently caught up with The Los Angeles Times podcast Can’t Stop Watching and noted
that he felt “very troubled” by the allegations.
He explained that the allegations speak to a much larger “systemic” issue, which
also led him to question whether the show is causing more harm than good.
Penn said QUOTE, “So what I think about, then, in my position?
Certainly, I think of my own conduct, and I am thankful that I have tried to uphold
a certain level of conduct throughout my life.I also am thinking about how to somehow not—the
idea that a show like ours would indirectly, unwittingly be a haven for people who are
abusive is disturbing.
It's very disturbing.”
He then went on to question what it would take to change that stigma, adding, “It’s
not just vetting individuals.
There needs to be a change in culture and attitude so that that kind of behavior is
so clearly reprehensible, it’s so clearly, like, anti-human.”
Penn also revealed that the allegations against Chris led producers to have a conversation
with Jenna Ortega, who stars as the 17-year-old victim that Chris’ character is out for
in season two of the show, “to make sure she felt safe.”
Although she has yet to address the accusations, many other celebrities have also spoken out,
including Whitney Cummings, who created the comedy series “Whitney” in which Chris
stars as her live-in boyfriend.
She shared her thoughts to social media in a post over the weekend, saying QUOTE, “I’m
devastated and enraged by what I’ve read and learned.
This is a pattern of predatory behavior.
This abuse of power is enabled by silence.
Now that I’m aware, I won’t be silent.
Girls should be able to be a fan of a comedian they admire without becoming a sexual target.”
Amy Schumer also addressed the accusations, although not mentioning Chris’ name specifically,
but took the opportunity to praise the brave women coming forward about the “mistreatment
they have experienced at the hands of comedians or in any other profession.”
Amy also offered her support to anyone who needs to talk, saying, “We are watching
you and we are all together now and we won’t accept this behavior whether you break the
law or not.
I’m here to talk if anyone needs any support.
Reach out and I’ll try to help as best I can.”
And in an unexpected turn of events, Chris D’elia’s team, albeit much smaller, released
email exchanges Chris had with one of his accusers to PageSix.
According to PageSix, They provided an email between Chris D’Elia and a woman who last
week posted emails from 2012 on Twitter in which Chris said in it he wanted to have “naked
sex” with her.
When she made them public, she claimed that she was 17 at the time of the exchange.
Chris’ camp released an email to PageSix that showed Chris D’Elia had allegedly asked
her approximately midway through their exchange, “How old are you?”
She replied “12,” apparently kidding.
He responded, “Answerrrrr,” to which she said, “24?”
There is much more information where this came from, so we have linked the full article
on PageSix down in the description below.
Fans have also spoken out about the allegations surrounding Chris.
One user attached a gif with the caption, “As a massive #chrisdelia fan, I am in utter
shock and disgust.
Listened to every Congratulations podcast for two years and now I just have to…”
Others weren’t exactly surprised by the allegations, like this user who wrote, “It
was always obvious to me that @chrisdelia was a scumbag...
Is it really a surprise for some?”
Although many fans are coming to other celebrities’ defense, this doesn’t seem to be the case
for Chris as there is plenty of disturbing evidence to support these womens’ allegations.
As the story continues to unfold, we’ll be sure to keep you updated!
For details on Justin Bieber’s response to his sexual assault allegations, click right
over here for another Clevver video.
Then be sure to let me know your thoughts on all this, as well as Penn’s response
to Chris’ sexual assault allegations right down here in the comments.
I’m your host Emile Ennis Jr., bye guys!