Chris D'Elia

Chris D'Elia accused of sexually exploiting a minor & soliciting child pornography in lawsuit

Comedian and actor Chris D’Elia has been accused of soliciting child pornography and sexually exploiting a minor in a new federal lawsuit, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. The suit was filed on behalf of an anonymous “Jane Doe” in a U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. In it, Jane Doe alleges that in 2014, when she was 17 and D’Elia was 34, D’Elia asked her for nude photos over social media, and later sexually abused her.

According to the suit, D’Elia invited Doe to one of his comedy shows soon after she messaged him, not expecting a response, on Instagram. They began talking on Snapchat, at D’Elia’s request, and according to the suit, he began asking her for photos, which escalated to him asking for nude photos. In the suit, Doe said she sent D’Elia “5-10 sexually explicit photos and videos of herself before she met him in person. Ms. Doe was only 17 years old at the time.”

D’Elia became insistent upon meeting Doe in person, the suit continues, and in November of 2014, she and two friends drove to his show at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, CT. Doe says that D’Elia “pressured” her to meet him at his hotel before the show, and when she arrived there with a friend, told her the friend needed to leave or she couldn’t come in. According to the suit, once inside the room, D’Elia “instructed Ms. Doe to get on the floor, take off his shoes and pants, and give him oral sex” and “approximately ten minutes after she arrived at his hotel room, Defendant D’Elia had sex with Ms. Doe.”

Doe and D’Elia had a second sexual encounter after the show, the suit continues, and continued communicating after, during which time she says she sent him “more than 100 sexually explicit photos and videos” over six or seven months. According to the suit, half were sent while Doe was a minor.

Doe seeks “unspecified compensatory and punitive damages and an injunction that would bar D’Elia from possessing or taking any action with the photos of Doe” from the suit.

In response to the suit, a spokesperson for D’Elia told The Hollywood Reporter, “Chris denies these allegations and will vigorously defend against them in court.”

D’Elia has also been accused of sexual misconduct, grooming, harassment, soliciting nude photos from minors, and exposing himself to multiple women. After the allegations surfaced, he was dropped by the CAA, and an episode of Workaholics where he plays a child molester was removed from broadcasts and streaming platforms.