Chris D’Elia suffers cancellation of one whole show amidst renewed misconduct allegations
A new YouTube documentary accuses comedian Chris D'Elia of running a "sex cult" rife with alleged abuses
Cancel culture clearly skipped over Chris D’Elia’s career. In 2020, he was accused of preying on and having sexual encounters with underage girls. D’Elia denied the allegations, stated that his relationships had been “consensual and legal,” and claimed to be undergoing therapy for sex addiction. After this, D’Elia continued to run his successful podcast Congratulations, launched a new advice podcast called Lifeline, and still does stand up at comedy clubs around the country.
Until now. Sort of. Ahead of his upcoming tour, a single show has been removed from the calendar. Rolling Stone confirms that D’Elia’s appearance at the Hollywood Improv on January 11 has been canceled, though neither the performer nor the venue offered further comment. Per the outlet, the cancellation comes amidst calls from critics to protest outside the Hollywood Improv after the release of a new YouTube documentary detailing further allegations against D’Elia.
The hour-long documentary, titled “The Chris D’Elia Problem…”, was created by comedian Kyle Anderson and features interviews with D’Elia’s former tour manager, Zack Doncovio, as well as four of D’Elia’s accusers. Accusations included multiple ongoing relationships with women even after he had posted his 2021 apology video; that he wanted to lead a “sex cult” with a “harem” of women at his disposal; that he talked in terms of “ownership” of women’s bodies and encouraged them to tattoo his initials on their necks; that he would demand sexually explicit photos or videos from them; that he would threaten self harm if an accuser should come forward with allegations about him, and more.
The Hollywood Improv show is the only cancellation—literal or cultural—that D’Elia has experienced amidst these renewed allegations. As the documentary points out, D’Elia is, at this time, selling merchandise branded with the phrase “Join our cult!” There are still more than two dozen tour dates listed on his website as of this writing.