#‘Workaholics’ Episode with Comedian Chris D’Elia Pulled By Comedy Central Following Underage Sexual Harassment Allegations

Comedy Central has pulled an episode from the first season of the comedy series Workaholics from the show’s streaming library on Hulu, Amazon Prime, and the cable channel’s own website/app after underage sexual assault accusations were made against comedian Chris D’Elia, who guest starred in the episode.

In the first season of Workaholics, an episode titled “To Friend a Predator” has Chris D’Elia playing a character named Topher who is believed to be a child molester lurking on a Justin Bieber fansite created by Blake, one of the main characters. In the episode, the main characters played by Adam Devine, Anders Holm and Blake Anderson plan to bust him, but then get the impression that he might not be a creep and befriend him. So you can see why Comedy Central felt it was necessary to take the episode down.

In addition to pulling this specific episode, which was brought to our attention by Deadline, it appears that Chris D’Elia’s profile as a stand-up comedian is no longer available in Comedy Central’s database of comics. Though the page still comes up in Google search results, the link no longer goes to the comedian’s profile. There do appear to be some videos of Chris D’Elia’s stand-up bits on some of Comedy Central’s YouTube channels though, but that could easily change in the near future.

The accusations made against D’Elia surfaced all over social media last week after Twitter user @SheRatesDogs rounded up numerous stories from women about the comedian soliciting them for sex when they were under the age of 18. There were much more than a few accusers, many with screenshots of conversations via text or e-mail where D’Elia was very forward about his intentions with these women, who were underage at the time of their interaction, a detail the comedian was made aware of and never balked at in their communications.

For his part, D’Elia has denied the allegations in 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. That being said, I really am truly sorry. 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”

It’s interesting to note that D’Elia specifies that all of his relationships have been legal and consensual, but never addresses where or not all of his sexual activity has been legal and consensual. Plus, the fact that he never met or exchanged photos with any of these accusers doesn’t preclude the fact that he attempted to engage in sexual activity with them, of which there is ample evidence, which is not appropriate or legal.

Even Chris D’Elia’s longtime friend and fellow comedian Whitney Cummings, who gave him a key supporting role in her sitcom Whitney on NBC, has come out to denounce D’Elia’s actions. In a statement on Instagram, Cummings said:

“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. 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.”

In an unsettling coincidence, D’Elia also played a child molester on the Netflix series You. The character was killed on the show, so there’s no concern about him returning, but is there anything Netflix can do about his presence in the series? It’s not likely, but perhaps a disclaimer can be placed on the series. The streaming service also has a few of Chris D’Elia’s stand-up specials available in their library, but there’s been no word about those being taken down at this time.

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