NOTE: This article contains explicit language and may be triggering for some readers. Please read at your own discretion.
Comedian Chris D’Elia is once again under the microscope after two more women, in a new CNN report, accused him of exposing himself to them.
One of the women says he exposed his genitals to her without consent, while the other says he masturbated in front of her, also without consent.
“D’Elia denies these allegations and emphatically states that he has never engaged in any sexual conduct with any woman without her consent,” said D’Elia’s lawyer Andrew Brettler in a statement.
The first accuser, actor Megan Drust, alleges her encounter with D’Elia happened in 2011, after the comedian asked her for a ride home following a meal with a third party. After they got into the car, Drust says, D’Elia unzipped his pants and exposed himself to her.
“We were both sitting there and I’m like, ‘Where are we going?’ And Chris is leaning up against the door of the passenger side and looking at me in this really weird way and then he started to try to make flirty small talk,” she told CNN.
“I was very confused because it just didn’t fit the moment. Then he took down his zipper and asked me to touch him and I said, ‘What are you doing? No.’ And because I wouldn’t touch him, he started to masturbate. I couldn’t believe it.
“He climaxed in his pants and then he zipped everything up and I said, ‘What’s wrong with you?’”
She says he then got out of the car, looked at her “without saying anything” and then just walked away. Drust claims she cried as she drove home.
The second accuser, who wished to remain anonymous, told CNN her encounter with D’Elia took place at the Kimpton Schofield Hotel in Cleveland in 2018, when she was 24. She claims that she was the manager of the hotel at the time and D’Elia was a paying guest.
At one point, she says, D’Elia called the front desk around midnight, so she went to check on him. When she arrived at D’Elia’s room, he opened the door and “he was completely naked,” she alleges.
“I was surprised, and I was annoyed that I just came all the way up so he could expose himself to me,” she said to CNN.
She left immediately and went back down to the front desk, where she says the comedian called her again.
“He told me I needed to come back upstairs to help with his air conditioner and I told him he would need to wait for the electrician the following morning and I hung up,” she said.
The anonymous accuser says she reported the incident to her superior, but was “made to feel like it wasn’t a big deal.”
In a statement, Kimpton Hotel denied that any such incident was reported by employees or guests.
“No incidents of guest misconduct were reported by guests or staff at the Kimpton Schofield Hotel during the dates in question,” read the statement.
These two accounts come on the heels of similar accusations made in June, when D’Elia was accused of exposing himself to a then-19-year-old and sexually harassing multiple underage girls online — allegations he denied at the time.
He made a statement to TMZ, simultaneously apologizing and refuting the accusations:
“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. “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.
“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.”
In June, the Los Angeles Times reported that D’Elia was dropped by his manager, 3 Arts Entertainment, and his comedy gig booking agent, William Morris Endeavor.
A Workaholics episode featuring D’Elia, in which he portrays a pedophile who pursues young boys, was also pulled from Hulu, Amazon Prime Video and Comedy Central’s platforms.
— With files from Katie Scott
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If you or someone you know is experiencing abuse or is involved in an abusive situation, please visit the Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime for help. They are also reachable toll-free at 1-877-232-2610.
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