Whitney Cummings on Former Co-Star Chris D’Elia: ‘Predatory Behavior’ in Comedy Must Stop

Whitney Cummings has broken her silence on the sexual misconduct allegations against Chris D’Elia, saying she’s “devastated and enraged” by what she’s learned.

Last week, multiple women on social media accused D’Elia of trying to engage with them sexually, some being as young as 16 when the alleged encounters happened. A Twitter thread of the allegations went viral on Wednesday night, with some women accusing D’Elia of sending them inappropriate messages and attempting to solicit nude pictures from them.

Cummings and D’Elia starred together on the NBC series “Whitney,” which Cummings created and based on her life.

“It’s taken me a couple days to process the information I have learned about Chris. I’m devastated and enraged by what I’ve read and learned. 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,” she wrote on Twitter on Saturday. “Girls should be able to be a fan of a comedian they admire without being a sexual target. It’s the adult’s responsibility to be an adult.”

On Thursday, D’Elia denied the accusations in a statement to TMZ.

“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. 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,” he said.

“Whitney” ran for two seasons on NBC before being canceled in 2013. D’Elia played Alex Miller, the boyfriend of Cummings’ character, which was a fictionalized version of herself. Their three-year relationship was a large part of the show, and D’Elia appeared in nearly every episode.