Comedian Andy Dick Pleads Not Guilty To Groping Rideshare Driver

WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA — Comedian Andy Dick pleaded not guilty Friday to a misdemeanor sexual battery charge involving a rideshare driver in West Hollywood.

Dick, 53, is accused of groping the driver on April 12, 2018, in West Hollywood, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

The comedian has a long history of accusations of sexual assault. Last summer, he was charged after he was accused of groping the buttocks of a complete stranger and making lewd comments to her as she walked past him. He also pleaded guilty to misdemeanor battery for a 2008 incident in Murrieta in which he pulled down a teenage girl's shirt and bra, exposing her breasts. He's been arrested and accused of indecent exposure on and off the stage.

Dick denied the ongoing allegations in a 2017 interview, claiming he is a changed man.

"I don't grope people anymore. I don't expose myself anymore," Dick told The Hollywood Reporter last year. "I do understand that the temperature in the world right now is delicate."

Dick was fired from the independent film Raising Buchanan in 2017 after co-workers accused him of groping, licking and sexually propositioning them, sources told The Hollywood Reporter.

The comedian denied the groping allegations but acknowledged he may have licked people as part of his comic shtick.

"I didn't grope anybody. I might have kissed somebody on the cheek to say goodbye and then licked them. That's my thing," Dick said. "I licked Carrie Fisher at a roast. It's me being funny. I'm not trying to sexually harass people," he said.

A Nov. 4 pretrial hearing is set for Dick, who could face up to 180 days in county jail if convicted as charged.

In late February, the comic pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges of battery and lewd conduct for groping a woman last year and was given the option of serving 30 days in jail or performing 15 days of community labor or 150 hours of community service. He was also put on probation for three years, according to the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office.

A misdemeanor count of sexual battery was dropped as part of the plea agreement, under which Dick was told he would not have to register as a sex offender if he completes probation without committing a similar offense.

The comic, who was a member of the "NewsRadio" cast in the mid-1990s and once appeared on "Celebrity Rehab."

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.