Whitney Cummings has broken her silence on onetime sitcom co-star Chris D’Elia‘s alleged pattern of predatory behavior aimed at young fans and underage girls.
Twitter user Simone Rossi on June 16 shared screenshots of emails she exchanged with D’Elia in July 2014 and January 2015, when she was 16 years old. D’Elia during the exchanges requested a photo of Simone, and also asked if they could hang/”make out” during a stand-up tour stop in Tempe, Ariz.
Other young women have since come forward via multiple forums to share similar stories of being “groomed” and preyed on by the comedian/actor, some while underage at the time.
“I’m devastated and enraged by what I’ve read and learned,” Cummings, who starred opposite D’Elia on her eponymous 2011 NBC sitcom, said Saturday on Twitter. “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.”
D’Elia, whose TV credits also include Undateable and The Good Doctor, most recently had a role in Season 2 of Netflix’s YOU — as a comedian who is secretly a child molester.
“I still can’t believe Netflix cast Chris D’Elia as the pedophile in Season 2 of YOU. Like, the literal IRONY,” Simone tweeted. “F— you @ChrisDElia and also @Netflix,” she added. “I highly doubt casting this creep as a pedophile was a coincidence.”
Shortly after the accusations from Simone and others surfaced, D’Elia issued a statement to TMZ, saying, “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,” he added. “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.”
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