Stand-up comedian Chris D’Elia is facing a fresh lawsuit as he is accused of soliciting hundreds of sexually explicit photos and videos from a 17-year-old girl who claims he also had sex with her.
A woman identifying as Jane Doe is suing D’Elia for violating federal child pornography and child sexual exploitation laws.
According to the lawsuit, D’Elia demanded her to send him “sexually explicit images of herself over the internet, directed her what specific sexual poses and acts she should perform for him, and psychologically punished her when she refused.”
The suit goes on to say the the comedian “constructed a manipulative, controlling and abusive dynamic” before he took the girl’s virginity.
Doe claims Chris D’Elia ‘abused his status and fame’ to lure her in when she was still a teenager
As reported by the LA Times, Doe alleges half of the photos were taken when Doe was 17 years old. Doe and D’Elia reportedly first made contact when Doe reached out to the You star on Instagram in 2014, not expecting a reply. D’Elia was on his Under No Influence tour at the time, and they communicated on Snapchat later down the line.
The lawsuit claims D’Elia invited Doe to one of his stand-up shows, before he allegedly “lured her to his hotel room, separated her from her friends, and took advantage of her youth and inexperience to have sex with her.”
Doe also alleges D’Elia, who denies the allegations, continuously questioned how old she was, and described her “age, innocence, and virginity” as “hot”.
In a statement released on Tuesday by her attorneys, Doe said “When I was in my final year of high school and still a child, I was groomed by a celebrity twice my age.
“Chris D’Elia abused his status and fame to lure me in, take advantage, and manipulate me when I was at a vulnerable age. I want any other girls out there to know that they are not alone, and it is time to get justice for the mental and physical toll he has put us through.”
Former accuser backs claim against Chris D’Elia
This isn’t the first time D’Elia has faced accusations of sexual misconduct.
Last year a wave of women accused Chris D’Elia of sexual harassment, assault and grooming.
Simone Rossi alleged the comedian would regularly ask her to meet up with him and send pictures when she was 16.
In a series of tweets in June 2020, Rossi revealed her alleged experiences with D’Elia, including screenshots of their conversations.
“Imagine being 16 and being groomed by a stand-up comedian twice ur age and the only reason you never met up and never got physically m*lested was because you had just gotten a boyfriend ur own age.”
She went on to add: “For the longest time i thought it was embarrassing for ME that i was interacting with this older man but he was the one who DM’d me on twitter and was the one who was twice my age and was the one that used the power imbalance between us to his advantage so f**k chris d’elia”
In light of the new abuse allegations, Simone took to Twitter to announce “I stand with Jane Doe”.
Speaking to TMZ, a spokesperson for D’Elia said “Chris denies these allegations and will vigorously defend himself against them in court.”