One of the headlines over at New York Magazine is “Louis CK Is Done.” I think that’s a fair assessment, although it’s going to take a while for several cable networks and studios to really understand that. Yesterday afternoon, Louis CK abruptly announced the cancellation of the New York premiere for I Love You, Daddy, his Woody Allen-esque ode to statutory rape. The premiere was canceled because Louis CK got the heads up that the New York Times was about to drop their exposé about the long-standing rumors of his sexual misconduct. Well, the NYT dropped their story just hours later, and basically every terrible rumor you’ve heard about Louis CK is true. I did some late afternoon coverage of the NYT’s bombshell here.
“I think the line gets crossed,” Julia Wolov said, “when you take all your clothes off and start masturbating.” https://t.co/GYl09W0uW2
— The New York Times (@nytimes) November 9, 2017
So just how “done” is Louis CK? Here are some of the stories of people backing away from him very slowly:
HBO doesn’t know him. HBO gave Louis CK a home for several stand-up specials and one comedy series (Lucky Louie) – all of those shows are being dropped from HBO On Demand. HBO has also dropped him from their comedy special Night of Too Many Stars: America Unites for Autism. That’s the annual comedy event hosted by Jon Stewart, who is/was a good friend of Louis CK. Interesting sidenote: Jon Stewart was playing dumb and protecting Louis CK’s reputation last year when he (Jon) was asked directly about the long-standing rumors of Louis CK’s behavior towards female comics.
FX doesn’t know him. FX and Louis CK had a productive relationship that included the Emmy-winning series Louie, as well Louis’s creator credit on FX’s shows Baskets and Better Things. FX’s statement: “We are obviously very troubled by the allegations about Louis C.K. published in The New York Times today. The network has received no allegations of misconduct by Louis C.K. related to any of our 5 shows produced together over the past 8 years. FX Networks and FXP take all necessary actions to protect our employees and thoroughly investigate any allegations of misconduct within our workplace. That said, the matter is currently under review.”
Netflix, Amazon and Hulu might not know him. He has deals with all three services and no one knows what will happen with them. I suspect the one that’s in the least danger is Amazon’s One Mississippi, which he executive produces. Tig Notaro was quoted in the NYT piece and she’s known the extent of his perversions for a long time. I suspect Amazon will just force Louis out of the show as a producer and continue to work with Tig.
No one wants this movie. No one wanted I Love You, Daddy before the NYT story dropped anyway, so it’s not like people are really forming new opinions about the film now. It was always going to be an enormously problematic film and I still can’t believe that Louis CK even got that mess financed and that NO ONE stopped and thought “wait, should this film be made?” Well, now the film’s distributor, Orchard, is “reviewing” the situation, including whether or not to even release the damn film (it was supposed to come out on November 17th). Their statement: “In light of the allegations concerning Louis C.K. referenced in today’s New York Times, we are cancelling tonight’s premiere of I Love You, Daddy. There is never a place for the behavior detailed in these allegations. As a result, we are giving careful consideration to the timing and release of the film and continuing to review the situation.”
As I said about the Weinstein stories, it’s important to NOT blame other people for a sexual predator’s behavior. Louis CK is to blame entirely for what he did. Full stop. But I’m also very curious to see what all of Louis CK’s male comedian friends will say in the days and weeks to come. Louis is close to men like Chris Rock, Jon Stewart, Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert (who softballed the issue last night after Louis dropped out of the planned interview) and Ricky Gervais. The comedy scene is just as much of a look-the-other-way boys’ club as the Hollywood studio system, and it will be very interesting to see if any of those men come out and really condemn him.
Update: The Orchard will no longer be distributing I Love You, Daddy. Good.
Photos courtesy of Getty.
Disappointed in Jon Stewart, Colbert was brave enough to call out what Louis CK did on his show last night.
He basically had to. Stewart could say “I never heard about it” when he was asked a while ago while Colbert had Louis as a planned guest that very night.
I don’t think you “have” to do anything Colbert could have ignored the whole thing if he wanted to.
@DiligentDiva
Colbert could have ignored it but it was known that Louis was the planned guest and it was a major story all afternoon when they show was starting to film. So Colbert acknowledged the situation because not doing so would have reflected poorly on Colbert.
I dont think so personally. People expected Colbert to say something.
Jon Stewart was college roomates with Anthony Wiener. Jon Stewart’s brother was a big shot on Wall St when the 2008 meltdown happened. Jon Stewart’s personal relationships have always coloured his commentary. He is not the Liberal Lion we deserve.
@Red Snapper
You are talking about everyone BUT Jon Stewart. What should he have done in college about Wiener and how would he know his internet habits? I prefer not to cut my family or friends who work/worked on Wall St. out of my life. ?? They aren’t Deplorable.
Your comment makes no sense. It sounds like right-wing conspiracy lunacy or bot. Only someone who didn’t understand the left would say this.
@Red Snapper
Very much agree with magnoliarose. Your condemnation stretches too far. Is Jon supposed to be some kind of puritanical Liberal in order to give leftist commentary? A “perfect” snowflake as the right always screech? You probably don’t even know if he and his brother get along or agree with each other.
Colbert would have been brave if he said somethin last month.
We canceled Damon and Clooney for looking the other way, are we not going to do the same to Colbert and Stewart?
At this point everyone is cancelled for ME, and they will all have to earn back my viewership with what they say/do next. But that’s just me.
How is that the same thing?
Harvey and CK are both predators only one is a serial rapist, bully, blackmailer, dream destroyer, physical assaulter who had enormous power that was unchecked for two decades. There is Casey who Damon protected along with Affleck, and then there are their glaring flaws that have been a problem before this. Both Afflecks have been accused of sexual assault.
Colbert has been a surprising disappointment, not gonna lie
The problem with that is what had plagued the Louis CK story from the beginning. Until yesterday that allegations were not specific. Which is why various websites came under fire for even discussing the rumors. His stans were relentless in harassment of anyone who dared ask what deal was and why the rumors persisted.
Louis C.K. is a huge favorite of mine. Perhaps some of these offenders can be forgiven…ie in other words with their wallets. I’m talking very substantial donations from each and every one of them to benefit abused women and children. As Louis C.K. has done, a heartfelt apology to the victims is in order also. I believe in second chances and I don’t want to lose one of my favorite entertainers forever. If there’s any repeat behavior then they’re done.
@Sabrine i’ve avoided his work for years and i hope he goes away forever. i don’t believe predators like him can possibly give a sincere apology. he’s just saying what he thinks he has to say to get the media off his back.
@ SABRINE
What you really mean is that your a big Fan of Louis so your going to over look the fact that he assaulted 5 women so you can enjoy his work. Like Olive said he just saying what his fans what to hear.
@Sabrina Do you believe that Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, Terry Richardson, Danny Masters… all deserve a second chance or is that reserved for people you are a fan of?
If the comedians are supposed to talk about every rumor about sexual crimes, they wouldn’t have time to talk about Trump.
Really, until the dam bursts and people start going public with their stories – we can’t expect people who only hear the rumors to drop everything and get serious (or funny) about it. Sometimes they hear a story from a source they can trust (someone they know well), but even then they won’t know for sure how extensive it is until the stories are told in public with names attached, as is happening now. And their friend may not release them to talk about it. The comedian who started the ball rolling with Cosby could do that only because there were public accusations attempting to go through the courts in the past, so there was a basis for it. No police reports, no court cases – no basis for the jokes. It was still kind of a fluke – the comedian was in the right place at the right time with the right audience and said exactly the right thing.
They would also be sued into oblivion if they accused with no evidence. You can’t condemn someone based on a rumor. I’ve had rumors spread about me that were totally baseless. Really made up out of whole cloth by a pathological liar.
We can’t expect late night comedians to deal with everything and to do the job of law enforcement. Trump is an easy target for them because the audience knows who he is and he’s bizarre and all the awful stuff he does is already out in the open. Trump even rats on himself, he’s such a blowhard. Plus going after Trump at the moment is protected political speech.
Making this stuff funny is a lot more difficult first because of the subject matter and secondly because many people just wouldn’t recognize the names of the alleged perps. And again, until the people abused actually go public – there is nothing to go on but rumor, and rumors can be wrong.
So we need to cultivate an atmosphere where it is just as normal to report sex-related crimes as it is to report any other type of assault or robbery or whatever. Then investigations can start right away and evidence can be collected. Not so much can be done many years later, although multiple public accusations from different people certainly help build a case regardless. Every person who speaks up makes the case stronger, even if only in the court of public opinion. The perpetrators do it because there have been zero consequences for them. That does seem to be changing.
I also want to know where was the outrage when Jezebel covered this story in depth no too long ago? And he was able to skate by that story by essentially saying no comment. I’m also annoyed at all the liberal bros coming to his defense. Reminds me that there are sh*t people on all sides of all colors and that some people say they are liberal but still do this crap
Nicole, I agree. While I’m still really frustrated with Trump supporters/Fox News etc. for the pass they give to certain sexual assaulters (ahem, Roy Moore), white supremacists. etc. I’m really getting mad now at the so called liberals who are part of the problem. Will Ferrell and Adam McKay are top of my list right now – how are two such big supposed liberals okay with hiring Mark Walberg (after his racist attacks) and, even worse, Mel Gibson! The fact that Mel gets to be in a family holiday movie because of some of Hollywood’s biggest liberals enrages me. And liberal lawyer lion Boies is trying to bring down the women attacked by Harvey? And the list goes on and on. The number of people who are willing to look the other way when it’s convenient for them is becoming clearer and clearer, and that’s what’s so disheartening.
A dirtbag is a dirtbag is a dirtbag. Political affiliation has little to do with it. The hypocrisy kills me, though.
I guess Gervais is a lot less in the american stand up scene and I doubt many respect him there. He is an arrogant tool anyway.
Im interested what Marc Maron has to say, he said he will talk in his job about it and he has a long, troubled friendship with him.
Also keep asking Aziz, the way he reacted is terrible:
https://twitter.com/MarlowNYC/status/928854289291841536
https://www.thedailybeast.com/louis-cks-powerful-army-of-celebrity-enablers
Didn’t Gervais only do stand up after he made it big? Maybe I’m wrong, but I thought it was something he found success at only after The Office and Extras. I think he’s more like Larry David and stand up was never really his strength until after he became famous and people “got” him.
Im not a fan of him so I dont have details but yes he got famous pretty late in life through the Office and then tried stand up so I guess the stand up guys who had to work for decades in crappy clubs wouldnt really like that a guy can now just fill out arenas.
I’ve said this before here but Aziz Ansari had a very disturbing episode in Master of None about a predator like CK (not Aziz’s character, it was played by Bobby Cannavale).
It wasn’t the same modus operandi (a bit more Spacey-like) but quite disturbing. Aziz’s character talks to the victim who had changed jobs and tells her he doesn’t find predatory behaviour normal.
The victim, emboldened, decides to write about the abuser on her blog and it goes vital. Meanwhile, Aziz’s character had a tv deal with this guy that goes down. It’s one of the things that makes him go to Italy.
Sounds very very familiar. It was an awesome episode that makes me think that Ansari was trying to teach someone a lesson.
Sorry, just saw your comment. Aziz was asked about it:
https://twitter.com/MarlowNYC/status/928854289291841536
@QueenB That’s not really a response to CK is it? And before this debacle, Aziz was asked and said he didn’t want to talk about CK, which I can understand. It’s up to the victims to report. But in this episode he did something far better: register it as a typical workplace sexual abuse of power, way before the Weinstein revelations.
(The episode I mentioned was about harassment in the workplace, more specifically a TV set where a powerful guy preys on assistants.)
Yeah it’s not a response at all. His response is a non-response, a total cop-out.
That interview and thus that comment is from 2015, which I think is important to mention.
There was a scene in One Mississippi where Tig’s girlfriend goes into an office meeting and the boss masterbates in from of her.
I think a lot of comedians used their shows to kind of shine a light on what they didn’t have the power to stop themselves. Aziz is an Indian comedian in the US, no matter how famous he is, he’s not more powerful than Louis CK and Dave Becky.
Ultimately, the only way this could be stopped was the combination of investigative journalism and the public actually caring. Same with Bill Cosby. How many years were those stories around for? The public didn’t care, until we suddenly did and now look at him.
Alright but then why does Azis still not want to talk about it now?
@QueenB,
I completely understand Aziz not wanting to go into it. When he did the very good thanksgiving lesbian coming-out episode, he wrote it with his lesbian co-writer and pretty much said he couldn’t have done without her. He is an ally and uses the real power he has, in my point of view, to at least put the topic out there in his massively successful series. Hell, he’s doing much more than I am, using a wide platform that will stay in history for years to come, far different from Friends with their white-centered, homophobic jokes, that people still watch to this day.
Respect for the victims, maybe? It’s not his story. It’s theirs.
The women choose when they are ready, and if he had said something and been blackballed, then nothing would have ever seen the light of day. This is our story, and we don’t need men to be our voice or hero. We deserve the credit for speaking out. They are a supporting cast only.
Ansari isn’t saying anything because he’s scared of (and also friends with) Louis CK. If this was about protecting the women and not protecting his friend and his own career, he could have issued a statement like “The allegations are horrific and I believe these women.”
He really doesn’t have to go into any more detail than that, nor does he have to come out with a strong condemnation or judgment of his friend, but he absolutely SHOULD show public support to these women if he’s as woke as he claims to be.
He didn’t say anything because he’s a coward like most of these men, period. Now if he does eventually make a statement, it will be because of public pressure.
Also, it never ceases to amaze me how we apply different standards to the celebs we like versus the celebs we don’t like. And I’ve always liked Ansari but he does not get a free pass here.
Kitten that’s how it works here. All the time.
You see how he was left out of the men who need to answer list.
Now imagine if a woman said this…
Kitten, I agree. That statement sounds like a guy waiting to see how this plays out. Coward.
The interview was in 2015. If he were asked today and pretended not to know, then I would say something different. I just think back then it would have been easy to make Aziz an example of what happens if anyone talks and he didn’t have the permission of the victims to expose their experiences. I said that consistently since all this came out.
I am not a fan of Aziz one way or the other, and I definitely don’t give men any benefit of the doubt.
This is why I say going to “rehab” won’t for work for these people. It’s a mental disorder they are dealing with…they live on the high-wire knowing, but not caring, that it could come crashing down at any moment. He just destroyed his daughters’ lives. He would’ve known this could happen. Just like Weinstein and the rest of them.
It’s like Weiner…he absolutely knew that he would lose everything if he was caught sexting again, and he couldn’t stop.
Can we talk about the fact that at one point Doug Stanhope said that HE was the one masturbating in front of women, not CK?
Louis CK hid under the cover of feminism. Tig has actually said she felt that his nurturing of her career was to try to cover his tracks. It wasn’t that long ago that he was honored for his work in this regard. This is going to be a hard one for some of the high profile people in comedy. I’m also really curious to hear what Pamela Adlon has to say.
Feminism?..the routines I’ve seen are full of nasty references to women and what he ‘expects’ from them sometimes followed by the tired ‘oh, I really love women..’ I don’t know how anyone could watch his misogynistic act of year’s past and be very surprised at any of this.
IMO he’s repulsive.
Because they were watching his show. It certainly doesn’t hold up for a second look, but there you go. And again, he got huge points for “nurturing” Tig’s career.
If I recall, CK said something to the effect of “racism was a mistake, but sexism, that’s biology,” in his 2017 HBO special. I was horrified. I was a long time fan of his, and I am also a survivor of gang rape as a young girl. I heard that crap come out of his mouth, and I really didn’t want to believe he meant it. Apparently he did. Thanks, Louis, for making the world a shittier place. Shame on you.
I’ve been thinking of Pamela Adlon as well. I hope she hasn’t been harmed. He produces her show, Better Things, and it is a really good show. I hope it isn’t negatively impacted by Louie’s (hopeful) removal as producer. She’s done so much incredible work over her career. She is a 50+ woman on TV running her own show. I want good things for her.
Same! I Better things is such an awesome show, I’m so glad I found it… I now love Pamela Adlon so much
Wasn’t Doug Stanhope extremely supportive of Johnny Depp during his divorce from Amber Heard?
Oh ya. If it’s a standup kinda guy a bro really needs, Doug’s the man. Seems appropriate that a douche is also a parasitic blood sucker who will say anything for a free ride.
Stanhope is the CREEPIEST. He lied for Johnny Depp and married a girl less than half his age. He’s disgusting.
Comedians are in a good ole boys club and don’t check themselves. Look how so many of them defended and still do support Bill Cosby. It wouldn’t be surprising if many of them are guilty of harassment.
It always comes down to America’s true god…. money. Whenever the bottom line is threatened, then that’s when corporations take action.
Did you hear Dave Chappelle’s bit on Cosby? Basically Cosby is a super hero who has to be shitty in order to be a superhero. (The superhero pats vaginas in order to gain his incredible powers.)
I hope he’s not done. He is smart, and I think men may benefit from a truly introspective Louis CK. But he has to own the pain he’s caused women, and he has to make amends.
He called some women to apologize, but that is not enough! I don’t think his processing should be comedic–or maybe it can be? I think he should support women comedians financially.
Men harass women. Now it is time to do something about it. Getting naked / masturbating in front of women is abnormal sexual expression. We need to start having honest conversations about male sexuality and how it dovetails with power.
He needs to be done. He was lying earlier this fall and claiming that everything was just a rumor. Then the rumors turned out to be true. He had a chance to acknowledge the truth and he chose not to. Instead he thought he was above having his behavior outed.
THANK YOU. So much of the internet is going off and crafting some contrition story for CK that has nothing to do with reality. If he legitimately acknowledged his sh*t, he wouldn’t have lied about it publicly, repeatedly. And his manager wouldn’t have bothered intimidating these women. And he would have sat down with NYT instead of going dark and hoping it all went away.
Nah. These kinds of things often don’t get their day in court, and many incidents are beyond the statute of limitations. Public shaming is his comeuppance.
Good point, Merritt. I forgot that he denied allegations earlier this year.
The thing that REALLY pisses me off is that (per NYT) his people called one of the victims and threatened her career if she did anything further. That is victimization on top of victimization.
I just read that LCK just admitted the allegations from the New York Times were absolutely true. I won’t get into the particulars because parts of it kind of… irritated me but it’s worth the read. I saw it in The Hollywood Reporter.
Who the F@ck cares if he “smart” and who said he was sorry for what he’s done? He has showed that he not and will do anything to cover up his what he did.
You seem like a apologist who what’s him to have a career.
I care if he is smart and don’t want him thrown away if some serious introspective art can come from this.
Sexual predation is rampant and embedded in our culture. It needs to be engaged as does male sexuality.
“introspective art can come from this.” 😂🤣😃😅
At least own the fack that your a big fan and don’t what his assault on these women to be the thing that brings him down because you still want to enjoy his shows with a Peace of Mind. Instead of hiding under the cover of “introspective art”.
IF he was stupid what that make a difference to you.
Well, I’m not a fan and have only seen maybe a few seconds of his work. So it makes no difference to me if he continues to perform or not.
The fact that he didn’t call these women liars (denying anonymous rumors/blinds doesn’t count) but said they were telling the truth is a Good Thing that needs to be encouraged.
We don’t assume that people who commit most other crimes are completely unredeemable. Why should we assume everyone who commits sex-related crimes just should be dumped in the trash, never to be heard from again? Some may be too dangerous to let loose unsupervised ever again (Weinstein may be in that category), but can we say that about every one of them?
Rehabilitation in cases like CK can be quite difficult, he has some deep issues because what he did wasn’t even within the usual cultural norms for men harassing women. But can we be sure that it’s impossible? And do we really want no discernible benefit to accepting responsibility for atrocious behavior and stopping it? We don’t do that for other crimes. For many people, just changing the environment so harassment is no longer accepted as the norm may be enough to put them in the non-dangerous category. Others like CK have issues that go deeper.
If we really want to work toward a world where the culture doesn’t accept this type of behavior, we need to involve men (non-perps and some of the more self-aware perps) in the discussion because they need to change their environment also. They need to monitor each other and get up the courage to say when something is just unacceptable.
@jwoolman Waiiitttt a minute, how many women need to be privy to predation before “we” can determine he’s a danger that needs to be excised? If Weinstein is the barometer you’re using for irredeemable, does that mean CK has to accrue at least 50+ victims for society to determine he’s trash? If so, that’s a lot of leeway given to an apparent narcissist (That admission statement of his…. That dude is not right. He knows all the tricks and buzzwords. I’m really embarrassed about how much I liked him.)
Reef- we have to think in two directions. Is the criminal reformable, and how do we help that process? And how do we protect others from the criminal in the meantime? Not all countries think the answer to the second question is “toss him or her in jail” as often as we do, although in some cases that’s pretty much all we can do unless we have other ways of isolating them.
I don’t know what kind of therapy and other types of treatment would help a guy like CK to lose or at least manage this compulsion he has, but others might have a clue. I’ve never even heard of a “serial exposer” before recently, except those addled flashers on the street in trench coats.
In the meantime – the best thing CK could do is to make sure he always has a trusted keeper with him. I mean one that other people would trust to do the job right. Someone always with him, so he is never alone with women as he has been, someone who will report and intervene. Basically, he needs supervised visitation around women. Having a keeper would protect others from him and would indicate a real desire to not hurt anyone else. People have done this when struggling with alcohol and other addictions. In his case, he needs to convince a lot of other people that he can’t do more harm even if he wanted to do so.
If any of the women who have spoken out publicly are pursuing police charges, he will have a few other things to worry about.
@jwoolman I’ve read about the rehab programs in Scandinavian countries and frankly that wouldn’t work here. We’re too racist, too puritanical, too overpopulated, too patriarchal, and non-homogenous for it to work. Also, I just don’t feel like having a sexual sponsor is good idea. Self-harm addictions inevitably have relapses and that’s fine, but I’m personally not comfortable giving sexual predators more room than this country already does for recidivism. Admittedly, my own prejudices and experiences color my views against sexual predation rehabilitation but honestly, I’d rather these folks be shunned than risk 1 other victim.
Would you suggest the same of a flasher on the street? The guy masturbating on the subway? Cause that’s basically what CK was doing.
Apologizing because your actions had political and social consequences is not the same thing as being legitimately remorseful and apologizing to your victims. One has significantly more personal motivation than the other.
I mean, ideally, we’d want these creeps to GENUINELY come to the conclusion that what they’re doing is wrong and do whatever they can in an attempt to make things better for their victims. I don’t want them to only feel bad because it caught up to them. I want them to feel bad because they realize what garbage people they are and the kind of damage they’ve done. It’d be the best for everyone if these people CAN fix themselves – and not for their financial benefit – but genuinely overhaul their life and way of thinking women (men and children – whoever the victim) are inferior sex objects that are owed to them.
Am I holding my breath for 99% of these guys? Hell no. Would I be upset if they all faded into obscurity and lived a miserable existence? Nope. But it would be nice to see at least ONE of these people do something genuinely GOOD for a change instead of just spreading pain and misery. The cynic/realist in me is saying it’s probably not going to ever happen, though. I think most of these guys are just going to get more bitter and destructive. Which is sad for all the people who have to be subjected to them.
If any of these men were truly sorry for what they have done they wouldn’t need public exposure as a excuse for Redemption. They wouldn’t have for their management / PR team harassed and attacked the victims or silenced them. They would have gotten help a long time ago.
CK is not essential in anyone’s life. His ability to express his creativity and make a lot of money was because the public was unaware he was abusive. Instead of using his good fortune to be a positive member of society for great causes he chose deviant behavior and had no intention of stopping or fessing up until he was caught. These were his choices. He is not a 4-year-old. I expect more from a grown man than I do from my little sons and they know not to flash people and touch their privates publicly.
There is no gray area.
He can be creative and intelligent outside of the spotlight. He is welcome to do the supper club circuit in Albania, but he is not welcome to benefit from his power as a public figure any longer.
CK is not more important than his victims.
Preach…luv PREACH
I don’t agree with everything Wisca says, but I think she’s right on with hoping that Louis CK is able to come back swinging for the right side. On college campuses they’re trying to reduce sexual assault by teaching kids they need to stand up and say something when they see something wrong–to be an intervenor, not a bystander. It’s time for adults to hear that message over and over again, and with the influence and large male following he had I think Louis CK could potentially do some good.
It never ceases to amaze me the thing people will say to defend a celebrity they like.
How is Louis CK who assaulted 5 maybe more women going to teach people to stand up and say something wrong–to be and not a bystander?
So according to you and Wisca Should we hope that Harvey Weinstein makes a come back swinging for the right side, so he can’t teach other men to rape?
Not to rape.
Rose: I’m confused. So…are you suggesting I’m defending him? And are you suggesting I’m some mega fan or something?
What I’m saying is that Louis CK fucked up. And that human beings are capable of change, and repenting, and becoming better people. And that the best person to speak out is someone who 1) has been there and truly repented and learned, and 2) has the soapbox already.
Whether it’s right or wrong, someone like Louis CK could conceivably get booked on every late night TV show and use that as a way to speak out about the power aspect of consent. How massive is that when it comes to trying to change this culture? Taking someone who was respected by many people and have him lay out in no uncertain terms what needs to change. Will it happen? I don’t know, but I think it would be the ideal situation.
So the tl;dr: I believe a society’s strength lies not in revenge but in its ability to reintegrate those that truly repent and make amends, and I feel those people have an obligation to make amends and speak out to prevent more harm.
I don’t think Louie deserves a second chance. It wasn’t one time with one person, he’s serial exhibitionist and fondler and no one needs a Louie in their life to tell them that particular hobby is wrong.
As a woman, I don’t want CK anywhere near this cause. One little apology means nothing. He was asked before, and he lied.
There are plenty of men who want to be allies, and they have never abused their status.
I asked my husband about this, and he pointed out he never apologizes to the victims. Why should he be redeemed and these women have to live with this forever. He can’t give them back their time or pain. Or the years they saw him living freely and becoming more successful knowing he was a predator and helpless to stop him.
@MGM
I’m saying that you’re both.
You have already written the narrative that he’s a “change” man without any proof to back it up. He was asked about it before and lied, he had his Management and PR team try to silence these women and cover up his crimes.
This is a man who once compared child molestation to love for a candy bar. You think he is the person to speak on these issues? You know who should use their platform against assault, High profile men who don’t assault women.
Thinking that some should pay for their crimes they have committed is not revenge. You still didn’t answer my question in my original post about Harvey Weinstein.
@Rose: Confused here. I said Louis CK had the potential to change and do good. I never said that he had already changed, or had already earned forgiveness. What I did say is that a revenge/retribution take on justice is the wrong way.
Revenge instead of rehabilitation. To what end? What good does it do? It’s why I’m against the death penalty. It all sounds good on paper, but in practice instead of helping to heal it only harms society more. My position is what’s good for society in the long-term, versus what immediately feels good.
So you know where I’m coming from, I strongly suggest you check out the Nordic model of restorative justice. Norway is a great example of this. The principle is that offenders can be rehabilitated, and the goal is to find a way to help convicts re-enter society successfully. Repeat offenders in the US are over 3 out of 4….in Norway it’s 1 out of 5.
https://www.norwegianamerican.com/opinion/what-is-restorative-justice/
This is the kind of thing an abuse victim says to forgive her abuser. He is manipulative. Of course he’s capable of talking super-eloquently about his rapey ways. He’s been eloquent about other stuff. I’m sure he’d love to talk about his rapiness in front of a rapt audience. It would provide an even better cover for continuing his rapey ways. If you don’t see why this is problematic, then look up Hugo Schwyzer and what happened when he tried to leverage his past to be able to proselytize about his rapey ways.
He straight up denied the rumors until the story came out. He knows he has no choice now because he knows how many women he’s done this too. Notice that his apology makes very sure to underline that he got a “yes” from every woman. That’s not true. The two women he did this to were explicit that they said “no.” His apology is eloquent. He has been eloquent about women before, while engaging in the behavior he is now apologizing for. Eloquence is not honesty, and his apology is not honest or heartfelt.
I haven’t been a fan of LCK’s although I have found many of the bits and pieces I’ve heard of his work to be smart and funny and truthful. But I always detected a really dark and disturbed vibe about him. So glad this all has come out so people won’t be subjected to his sick abuse anymore.
If I remember correctly, he was among the comediens who defended rape jokes a few years ago when a fellow male comedien was blasted for making one. For me personally, that was the reason to never even bother with his standup etc. I just don’t have time for that kind of humor. I know everyone has a different line and some don’t have one at all but that was mine.
I had read about these rumors though and watched him on a few late night talk shows. I liked those appearances and felt extremely uncomfortable because I suspected the rumors were true. I’m glad I was never a fan. Bill Cosby was a horrible revelation and that really hurt.
I hadn’t heard the defense of rape joke and I only recently heard these rumors since I don’t follow him closely. I totally agree that rape jokes are never ok.
Don’t forget Aziz Ansari. When he was asked about the C. K. rumors last year Aziz said “I don’t want to talk about that.”
He’s an enabler too.
He dealt with it through his art. He is an artist and that should matter.
Can you explain how saying not wanting to talk about it is enabling?
It seems Louis C.K. did some great things for Aziz and acted as a mentor. Maybe Aziz is struggling on a personal level with what is coming out about his mentor and not ready to talk about it and that is absolutely okay. He might also be struggling with the fact that his team knew about C.K. behavior and helped cover it up. He’s allowed to feel that way.
Are any of these women saying they told Aziz personally or contacted him for help? If not then what is his responsibility? That’s a genuine question. Because it seems to me he’s a good guy who genuinely tries to be aware and respectful of women and supportive.
What about Amy Pohler? Has any one asked her? They worked together on Parks. Does she get a pass for some reason all the men that C.K. knows doesn’t get?
My point is not everyone who knows/knew a dirt bag can be taken to task for knowing them. All it takes is a quick look at a few serial
Killers to realize truly devious people can be really good at fooling those closest to them.
I find this incredibly problematic @Island-girl.
I don’t know Aziz personally of course, but the episode in Master of None that he devoted to sexual abuse in the workplace that gets his character to loose a contract because he contacted the victim to check if she was ok, which gave her the strength to put the truth out there is far more useful than anything he can say.
If CK was my mentor, I’d be unable to say anything right now. I personally love CK’s work and have been very shaken since I knew there was probably some truth to what he said about masturbation. Which doesn’t take away the fact that he is a genius comedian, and that’s what makes things even more difficult.
Let’s focus on the right stuff here. When men talk, in this website at least, we have commentators say that all men are vile, they don’t say enough etc.
The real problem are abusers and they leave victims of all kinds around them.
And it’s not like he tried to cover for him and protect him like Doug Stanhope. He never defended CK against the rumors.
I’m not ready to cancel every person loosely associated with the guy that didn’t speak out against him before the victims went public. I will however applaud Tig for her bravery in saying he needed to address it though.
@slowsnow Yes, the real problem is women saying men are trash and calling out their toxic bro culture…hmm
? I have cut off multiple male friends who got defensive when I asked them about rumors they had raped an acquaintance. Do you think that was fun or easy to lose what had been peviously been a strong social network? You call this crap out because that is how you support victims and let these people know their behavior is not ok.
As detritus posted, we all know a ‘broken stair’ – ie a male that gropes, harasses, and perhaps rapes. We are ALL responsible to identify the broken stair, not just women.
This is also a conversation about how men aren’t identifying “broken stairs” and why.
We are not saying send Aziz to jail. Just, he can speak up. If you see or hear something, say something.
It is penn state, the Catholic Church all over again – protection of those in power in cultures built by men that protect their crimes.
^^What Ladidah said.
People are falling all over themselves to defend Aziz smdh. Good thing we have a strong female coalition to safeguard men at all cost! I’m sure they’d do the same for us. /s
That being said, maybe Aziz will make a public statement soon. I sure hope so because right now his silence is deafening and even thought it will read as caving to public pressure, still better late than never.
Someone needs to call for Gervais as well.
@Ladidah @Kitten
This is a website. Where we write stuff to help us think about problems.
Then there are people who do things and people who say things. Ansari did something with his art before anyone knew anything. Did you even see his episodes about abuse? I could not care less about statements right now.
I’m not going to follow your hatred of male inclusiveness and understanding in this conversation. To freely quote Azar Nafisi, when we’re talking feminism, I expect to have a lot of men now, listening. There is no proof that Ansari saw anything, but there is proof that he tried to do something.
Ansari will probably say something at some point. By the way Louis CK already has, and he recognized what he did – but I can’t measure his level of sincerity. Statements are PC things people feel obliged to do, like sending a birthday card which we do even insincerily. And some people are very good with words… remember King Lear? Perfect description of that.
I saw the consequences of sexual assault on my daughter and on the men in her life. It was terrible for everyone involved.
But I guess the trend now is to be indignant and accuse others of “defending men”. I guess I was really silly trying to ALSO help my son, my daughter’s father and her boyfriend when it wasn’t always easy and when they didn’t always know what to say or didn’t understand what she was going through. Even I sometimes made mistakes with her and didn’t always know what to say.
It’s irresponsible not to think of the consequences of this to everyone involved – as a society we need to think what this means to everyone, these assaults, patriarchy etc. I’m a feminist because I believe it helps ALL of us as a society.
Some have complained about Aziz not saying he believes the women in public.
People here can freely say “I believe the women” because this is an anonymous site. They can make blanket statements with wild abandon. But someone who is on tv with a name and a face has to be more careful.
If a guy actually knows one of the accusers, it’s very appropriate to say “I know X and she’s not a liar. I believe her.” Or if they know someone who is not public about it but had a similar experience, it’s appropriate to say the same without giving a name. They can talk about things that point to truthfulness in the testimony of the people they don’t know, or just point out how wildly improbable it is that umpteen women independently decided to make up such stories. That’s a really important thing to say and needs to be repeated again and again.
But if your criterion for not being boycotted forever is that they don’t utter the words “I believe the women” – that’s rather counterproductive. In Aziz’s case, as others have pointed out, he has basically “talked about it” through his show in a very effective way. We have to let people approach such issues in their own way. His way may very well reach some people who would be turned off by blanket statements.
The CK guano has just recently hit the fan also and I can imagine people are still wondering what to do about it, especially if they have had other types of interactions with CK. That’s a rather human reaction and they shouldn’t be automatically dismissed as cowards or secret perverts or putting $$$$ above people. My bet is that few if any of them knew exactly what he was up to behind closed doors, so the new information might be rather disturbing and take a while to settle in. His habits really are bizarre, to say the least. His male friends and coworkers especially really may be shocked, they might have been imagining something much more benign and “normal” if they thought about it at all.
Initially I didn’t like Louie because he blatantly ripped off Carlin.
Now I know he couldn’t hold Carlin’s microphone. Swine.
What I’m curious about is, while all of these predators are getting lambasted, why is everyone still silent on Polanski? Even in light of others coming forward detailing his sexual assault on them as teenagers. How is that possible?
How does he get overlooked? Why is Hollywood not condemning his behaviour that has even been proven in court? What makes him so invincible??
-N
Yes, that’s a mystery. But it’s old news, not generating headlines. This makes me nervous, because when the NYT is reporting what previously was in gawker, it’s a sea change, and not everyone is onboard. Bracing for a backlash.
Roman Polanski gets a “pass” because he had/has so many celebrities going to bat for him. George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Johnny Depp, Kate Winston just to name a few. These celebrities don’t care about some unknown child and these children have no voice and sadly because of that he is safe from being exiled in Hollywood.
Not to mention for many people you get a “pass” if the public only here’s from one victim of sexual assault or child molestation. Look at Kevin’s Paisley, George W Bush Senior, Johnny Depp and so on. When these story first drop people were making up excuses that only happened one time and that these abusers have changed or it was the victims fault.
In this rent climate of outing these vile offenders, and possibly more recent allegations against Polanski, would he still receive the same support from the group of defenders. He has shown no contrition and will probably die being oblivious. Old or not, he is a systematic abuser/rapist.
He doesn’t get a pass from me.
I don’t think the celebrities defending him don’t care about children. It’s just that the original incident was a strange one and he had already spent time in jail. The judge started grandstanding and threatening to not follow the already agreed upon sentencing as part of the plea deal (a dangerous precedent). That’s why he left the country.
Both the girl and her mother lied about her age. Her mother deliberately had her go off with him alone for a topless shoot more than once. When he didn’t give the girl a part in a movie, the mom attempted to get money out of him. Only when the money wasn’t sufficient did she go to the police, not realizing she gave up all control doing that. If it had gone to trial, the girl’s testimony would have put mom in jail since she seemed quite willing to be truthful when asked directly. In earlier questioning, the girl made it clear that she wanted to have sex with him but didn’t like anal intercourse and he insisted. By then they both were high. She knew what Quaaludes were and knew they were in her drink. She had already had at least three sexual relationships so she knew what the expected vaginal intercourse was about.
She still was only 13 years old, but I don’t think men should be expected to be mind readers when even the mother says she’s much older and the girl is deliberately acting older. Of course, I also think guys should stick closer to their own age group and stay away from teens unless they’re that age themselves. But that seems to be a radically countercultural idea.
The age of consent used to be much younger and it may not have been as high as it is now back then also. In France, the age was 15 and all the stories I’d heard about the guy always involved someone at least 15. Sleazy and stupid and downright wrong to pressure a 15 year old like that, but not uncommon and not illegal. I haven’t kept up, but as of the time the US was unsuccessfully trying to extradite him many years later, he was not known for going after girls under the age of consent. I don’t know about the recent accusations.
Anyway, I can see why people continued to work with him. They just felt he had been set up and the mother was a criminal who deliberately put her daughter in the situation of trading sex for an acting job (plan B: for a lot of money). The girl didn’t really see herself as a victim but as a willing partner. She wanted an acting career and mom promised that this would get one for her. It’s sad because she was so young, but mom would have just gone on to try it with someone else. She was being pimped out by her mom.
Tradition? It’s f-ing ridiculous at this point.
Why the heck are both Affleck brothers still working? I seriously don’t understand. Can we forgive young good looking white men just about anything?
I’m interested to see what Netflix do, because surely if they drop his specials from the site they’d have to drop House of Cards too and I can’t see them doing that?
As of this morning, Netflix is not going ahead with the new LCK project. No word if they’re taking him out of the catalogue yet though.
I think Louis CK and Anthony Weiner have a compulsion that they can’t control. Not saying that’s an excuse or anything (they are dirtbags), but it seems like they just can’t stop the stupid, gross behavior no matter what it costs them in the end.
Yes, I got into an argument without someone last night on just that topic. He was surprised the New York Times was covering what he called a perversion. And noted that he had asked all but one of the women in the story. After letting the smoke come out of my ears, I spent an hour explaining. But my sense is that there are a lot of men who don’t get this as sexual misconduct worthy of derailing a career. We have a long way to go.
Well, when he masturbated on the phone while women were talking to him, he didn’t ask for their permission. You can tell your friend that.
That’s really going into perversion territory.
But I do agree that there is a fine line that he crossed and it’s hard to explain to men. My husband said “well at least he asked” as a kind of a joke but it does seem that he was aware of the fact that what he was asking was not ok. However he stil did and abusing a position of power, which is also problematic.
But it’s hard to understand. I was groped in the tube a lot as a teen and could not fight or flee… To this day, even to write this, it makes my skin crawl and I’m ashamed of myself. How could that have been my reaction??? And yet it was and I still feel horrified just to think of those horrible men.
How can you explain that to someone?
That’s why they need to rearrange their lives to make it impossible for them to follow their compulsions. I wouldn’t believe CK either if he said he will never do it again, because I don’t think he can trust himself to keep that promise.
But if he is sincere about wanting to never do it again – he needs to never be alone with a woman. Have a supervisor/monitor/ nanny/whatever always present who will get everybody out of the room and slap him up alongside the head if he tries anything… or whatever will work. Kind of a reverse bodyguard. This fulfills the function of prison (keeping such people away from the rest of us) without actually throwing him in a prison cell.
Everyone should take a moment and click on the link to the Jon Stewart interview. It’s infuriating! The kid who asked the question regarding POS Louis CK was brave, smart and had his facts lined up. Stewart came across as a total garbage person – uncomfortable, snide and patronizing. Barf.
I hate that he dismissed the accusations as “the internet” and therefore not credible, as if the internet was not our primary form of mass communication. I also hate that he dismissed the accusations because he knows and likes CK, whereas everyone knew Cosby was a dick already (as if only people perceived as dicks are capable of something like this). I guess I should say that I hate that he dismissed the accusations -full stop-.
The guy who asked Stewart the question about CK on Axelrod’s show also makes the great point that by Stewart inviting CK as his last guest on The Daily Show, this news pushed some of the rumors back then about CK’s behaviour out of the lead Google results for him for a while. He thereby helped to cover up and keep this guy’s career going for a lot longer, where he would have access to future victims (see also: Lorne Michaels).
I’m gratified that today, when you google Jon Stewart, one of the first suggested options to come up is Jon Stewart Louis CK.
Way to tie yourself to your sh-bag buddy, Stewart!
Jon Stewart has been problematic for a long time, see also: his interview with Bill Cosby in the midst of the Cosby scandal onfolding. There are countless things Stewart ignored or made light of.
Wilma…. HA! I didn’t know about that! There goes his so-called Cosby defense.
But when did that interview happen? Unless it was since women have come forward in public to accuse him, there really were only rumors and the net is full of them. A lot of rumors are false or exaggerated. So I wouldn’t expect anyone to treat them as truth unless they had personal information backing them up.
In other words, Stewart may not have known that CK was a serial private flasher. Now he does, because CK confirmed it and several women with names attached have described the crimes in detail. Has anyone asked him about it recently?
It all comes down to money, and some enlightened people who think their movie is truly great art that is going to enlighten us all. Their heads are so far up their own asses they can’t breath.
I like Better Things and Pam Adlon. I hope the show can continue without his involvement.
Me too. It’s a good show, and she’s a valuable female character to have on TV. She’s in early 50s. She’s a working professional creative and single parent. She’s funny as hell and has her own personal style which is partially based on she doesn’t give a sh*t. Her attitude is either accept her as she is or get the f*ck out. And she’s Not OTT !
That’s the problem with entertainment business. No matter what sector, comedy, movies, music, etc. 80% of it relies on partnerships and connections that make up tight groups of allied colleagues and professionals. Many times this is the only way to get projects off the ground that are outside the HW studio system and the main networks.
This one makes me sad though. I loved his comedy and Horace and Pete was one of the best things I ever watched.
About Polanski. It hasn’t been just one victims coming forward. Yes, hers was the most public because it went to trial but there have been recent allegations as of the past 2 weeks with a woman, Barnard, (and others) who says it happened when she was ten. Another, an actress Charlotte Lewis, also accused him and the two others came forward as of this year. He’s only so far denied the Barnard accusation.
“Since Geimer’s allegations, the director has faced allegations of sexual assault by three additional women.” – The Guardian
So in the past for whom? Not current headlines for whom?
And it’s never in the past when you’re a victim (male or female) of sexual assault.
-N
.
Like I said above, sadly he is protected by so many high-profile celebrities, so many of them have looked the other way for a piece of gold. This is why I couldn’t take Clooney’s comment on Harvey situation seriously. He wants to be the voice of of change against sexual assault in Hollywood and what to show, how awoke, he is on female issues, while he depends a child molester.
Can you imagine if these ladies stories got the exposure as Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, Lewis C.K and more. All the celebrities who defended Polanski couldn’t hide behind the cover of ignorance or rumors. They would have to own up to the fact that they depended child molester/ assaulter and what that would do to their Public Image. I wouldn’t be surprised if their management and PR teams are working overtime to keep these women Stories buried.
(And it’s never in the past when you’re a victim (male or female) of sexual assault. ) I couldn’t agree more with your statement here and to add to that one victim is enough.
Polanski has always been an odd case with some very powerful friends. There is no doubt to be had. He confessed and was convicted. And yet. I mean, Harrison Ford used to pick up awards for him that he couldn’t because of extradition issues. Oh and Mia Farrow adores him and called him “important to the world”. 😒
There seemed to be a feeling that since he was convicted (and then the Judge changed the sentencing deal) and the victim wanted to move on; that his one terrible mistake was in the past….One huh? Oops. 🙄
What you are most likely to see happen in the wake of these new allegations is silence. Polanski’s latest movie as far as I know does not have North American distribution and was not funded by Hollywood. I don’t know when/if the questions will be asked as so many actors are skipping red carpets and staying silent on everything. My guess is you will never see another major star work with or praise Polanski, but remember people didn’t suddenly grow a conscience, it’s more that these new accusations “embarrass” them. Turns out it wasn’t one “mistake” at all.
I hear you Sky. I was just disturbed when commenter Birdix said it’s old news and ‘I’m the past’.
-N
I’m equally disturbed by the behavior of the agent in silencing the women who tried to speak out. Can the law-savvy folks here tell me if his threats/suppression of a crime are themselves a criminal act? Because I’d like to see HIM lose his career too.
A criminal act? Probably not, and probably impossible unless Louis C.K. was actually convicted of something criminal.
I could see a civil case, especially if someone can show that this guy’s threats/actions led to actually financial or employment losses.
To be honest though I think the best that can be hoped for is a loss of reputation and his humiliation. Put pressure on clients like Aziz and Amy Poehler to dump this guy. It’s not enough, but its something.
Louis CK just released a statement. It’s rather comprehensive, more than I thought he would ever release and more than any of the others’ statements have been. I don’t know what else to say about it at the moment because I am still processing it.
I don’t know what to say. On one hand, it’s like yay (I guess) for owning up to your shit, Louis. On the other hand, too little too late. I’m just so f*cking sick of men right now. These stories on a cumulative level have left me entirely bereft of sympathy or understanding. These men abused their position, they abused these women. It’s worse with Louis because unlike Weinstein, he knew what he was doing was wrong but he justified it anyway. Weinstein is just a sociopathic garbage bag but Louis always presented himself as a self-aware individual that many women considered an ally.
It’s just so gross and as women we are all just exhausted. I’m done being forgiving. Get your f*cking shit together, men.
He’s taking the David Letterman route, which I think is WAY better than Harvey Weinstein’s phony sex rehab. Although, David L was just having an affair and not being a huge gross perv.
We’ll see how this goes.
I thought David letterman had a history of harassment on the job? I still get sketched out by him and how he flirts with the starlets.
Agree. Not sure how I really feel yet, but I do think its more than I expected and more than others have given.
That being said.. I am just so tired of all the excuses. He has just found another excuse… on he is banking on saving his reputation and business interests. I feel like all the men in Hollywood are watching all of this unfold .. and all they are learning is which excuse/apology/action is not working. Louis is just trying out the one he thinks will work.
He only admitted this (which is more than most men do to be fair) after the NYT dropped the story. These stories have been on the internet for years, and he even denied everything in September. So yes, him saying he did it, is an change from what we’ve been seeing, but in my mind he gets no cookie.
I don’t know how I feel about giving someone a pat on the back for admitting to being a dickhead. Also, it’s double screwed that, as usual, no one believes the victims. This has been being said for years and no one cared.
I want to hear what he’s going to do to do not only to help those women but to better himself.
At the end of the day he didn’t make this statement in September, he didn’t last year or the years before. What he did was have his PR guy try to silence these women and tried to have a friend take to fall for him. That is not the action of someone who is sorry for what they did.
All of the men are looking at the so called “apology”/excuse the one before for them have made and are trying to come up with something better.
Why are we women so easy to give these guys a pass because they put out a some what passible statement. When in reality we all know they’re only doing it to save their careers.
@MOOCHIELADY and Sky
I agree with you both.
I don’t get why people are conflicted in regards to Louis statement. He didn’t make this statement years ago or even in September. He’s only making it and owning up to it now because he has no choice. He can’t deny it and us rehab because Harvey and Ben did that, he can’t blame it on alcohol cause Kevin Spacey did that, saying silent, give a half a$$ apology because it has all been done and all failed.
He outright said these five women are telling the truth. Period. I’m happy for them. Why, when and how he chose to make his statement can be analyzed many different ways. But one good thing came out of it. These women were validated.
These women did need him to say he did it to be validated”
Oh come on. Better than ignored, doubted or accused of lying. They know they’re telling the truth and some will believe but now everyone will. I’m happy for them.
I agree that the validation is a positive thing, but if that’s all we’re looking for I think we are setting the bar at it’s absolute lowest setting. “Yeah, I did that” ain’t enough.
I’m not bragging on him in any way. I said I was happy for the victims not being called liars as so many are. What a disagreeable bunch.
Sorry, LadyT! I think it’s the “period” in there that threw me.
I see. I don’t give two hoots about him or his statement except for the benefit these ladies got when he outright said they were telling the truth. That was meant to be my sole focus. Thanks for the response. I think my writing skills leave something to be desired.
Denying anonymous rumors is very different than denying public accusations. I can see why he denied rumors. Who doesn’t?
But it was nice to see that he didn’t call them liars when the individual women stepped forward but rather immediately admitted that they and the NYT were telling the truth. That certainly matters a lot to the women themselves.
Jon Stewart is also canceled. He’s another guy that has disappointed me. Talks the talk but doesn’t walk the walk. He was already on my shit list after the remarks he made about the election. I was like, who are you?? But after seeing his deflection on Louis, just no. I’m sure he knew the rumors but let the bro code get in the way. Just fuck all these guys.
…not necessarily. Louis CK is very very good at talking the talk. That’s how he got away with it for so long. Because he spoke words and everyone was like ‘Feminist!’
Louis is so very good at throwing up words to first confuse, redirect and finally control the conversation. That’s his job.
He is not like Spacey or Weinstein who, when approached, said exactly the worst and the very wrongest things imaginable.
Spacey says others people’s words for a living. Weinstein hires people to write. They are not “creators” in that sense.
Louis CK is a writer and a creator. He may craft a statement so appealing, so (seemingly) contrite and on point that all of this will “go away”.
He may even pull out some Ben Affleck bulls*it about wanting to “lead the way”, “be part of the solution” or “listen and not talk”.
And some might believe it.
And let him slip right back in there. Mel Gibson style.
Oh, he crafted a statement. Go check twitter:
https://twitter.com/i/moments/929052494189268992
You are correct. He knows how to lay it on so that–at least on the surface–it looks good. But read it again and yes, just as you say…he’s a writer and a creator.
I’m still not exactly sure why, but his statement made my hands shake and I feel like I’ve been conned into getting into his car or something. He is such a slithering bastard, my God.
👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 your comment is spot on.
+1. I had the same feeling (ugh) when I read it. He is an expert gaslighter… the “liberal ally” cover for his sexual assaulting.
I feel the same way. He is done. Go away.
I keep mulling this over and have been reading through these comments on and off today. For everyone defending CK and talking about how they hope this will become a teachable moment, and that he can better himself and do some good, etc. etc., I think you are missing the actual teachable moment here. What I’m taking away from this is that anyone — even people you like and respect, even people whose jokes you laugh at or you feel an affinity with — can be capable of something like this. And men can get away with behavior like this when people who know about either disbelieve it or choose to look past it because they want to maintain a relationship with the guy for one reason or another. Please don’t be complicit. What he’s done is not okay and it’s not normal. I, for one, don’t want to see him rebuild his career off of this.
You and DEVEREAUX are on point with these comments.
Absolutely.
Years ago before I had heard any stories about his sexual violence, I found Jian Ghomeshi’s voice so creepy when it showed up on the radio, that I would leap across the room to turn it off with a shudder. There was a syrupy falseness to his voice that belied the words he was saying… the sound of part-playing, smokescreen and manipulation that signalled the hiding of something vile.
Well, I always got a similar vibe from Louis CK, except that his smokescreen was ironic self-awareness, like “hey, wouldn’t it be funny if I was this kind of creep?” to hide the fact that he was. But the veil was so thin that many of us sensed it.
I was as upset about this as the Weinstein case but for different reasons. In this case because I knew so many men who think of themselves as allies and feminists would defend this creep. Because they liked that about his act! Because they too on some level felt themselves to be this kind of creep or wanted to act as one.
I heard one a-hole today defend it as ‘kink’ and immediately switch to rehabilitation talk. Are you f-in’ kidding me! Women who have been put in this situation have talked about how they froze and decide to let the man finish hoping that would reduce the chances he’d rape them. And you, a self-proclaimed ally, will defend that in the name of sexual freedom and criminal justice reform? Wtf. You will sully those issues to defend this when you justly mocked it and reviled it when Bill O’Reilly and Mark Halperin did it?
I swear you do start to feel treated like a doormat that every last s-head thinks he can wipe his feet (or worse, clearly) on. Fu fu fu.
Check yourselves, Louis CK’s fans and friends: you’re a big part of the problem.
I thought he was funny and creepy, but I thought that was part of his act.
I always believed the rumors about him. He was really funny and it’s just sad that he’s so despicable. If you listen to his comedy though, you kind of get the feelings he’s a creep. He needs to go away and get some therapy. There are plenty of other funny people who don’t assault women. I’m hoping that as the guys go away better people step up to fill their shoes. I also get the feeling Jon Stewart is also a creep.
I grew disgusted with Jon Stewart way back when he mocked, at length, the student who was tasered for trying to ask John Kerry a question. Literally, I think the First Amendment requires that your government not electrocute you for asking a question, and yet here he was, splitting his sides at the warning cry for help and appeal to humanity of “Don’t tase me, bro.” Does Eric Garner’s “I can’t breathe” make him giggle, too?
There is a spectrum of liberal to conservative, and Stewart errs on the wrong side of protect-the-powerful reactionary.
people need to listen to this: http://discover.knit.audio/fame-is-a-bitch/episode/frbin8/pedophilia-part-1-the-wolves-of-hollywood.html
Anthony Edwards just named a producer who assaulted him from the age of 12. The Daily Mail helpfully presents a photo of said producer with Bryan Singer.
Eff him and all the other Hollywood men who sexually harassed and assaulted women trying to break into the business. You could have mentored and helped but you chose to discourage, alienate and to assault. Colbert and Stewart have done next to nothing to give more opportunities to women writers on their staff. They all bros over hos’d it, covered up for their sexual predator friends, lied and acted like nothing was wrong.
It’s obvious that men don’t want women to have access to the same professional opportunities they do.
You could give him credit for at least admitting it, but I believe he had no choice. He knew the story was dropping, he knows he (probably) did this to countless women, and to further deny it as he had in September, would just lead to further stories and more women coming forward. He’s not stupid and he’s watched how these things have played out over the past month. It was the smart thing to do and I don’t think it’s sincere. Sincere would have been stopping this behavior 15 years ago or ”getting help” at some point in the interim.
To be nit-picky, the statement is quite eloquent but his comment about power was interesting ”The power I had over these women is that they admired me”. Did they all admire him? all of those those writers, comedians , colleagues…. or were they just working with/for him. Surely the power he held over them was more about his status, prominence and industry clout (much like HW). I’m sure he wasn’t ”flashing” studio heads or industry big-wigs. He could have just said he realises he had a position of power and he abused it.
Hes depraved. Hes not a rapist or murderer. Hes pervy. Jesus christ.
Im sick of any/everything being referred to as “sexual assault”.
Its diluting the term and its pissing me OFF.
As far as i can tell, he didnt tie anyone up or lock them in his room, or kidnap anyone in order to make them watch him jerk. Are u scarred for life after seeing someone whip it out? Its gross and should called out, but pulling his entire body of comedic work from Networks, Cable, etc is just RIDICULOUS. He didnt kill anybody! This is over-the-top-witch-hunt-b.s.
And while were at it, grabbing some Mtvj’s tit when theyre all partying on a beach somewhere on camera isnt winding me up either. Is this Ben’s “crime” or is there something else.
PS: Y’all should watch the GIRLS episode called “American Bitch”
Its masterfully done and addictive!
@Stinky, *why* did he admit it? Now? Because he woke up on November 8, realized his behavior was wrong and was guilt wracked? Or because on November 9 he was revealed, had nowhere else to go and had to come clean? 5 minutes before this story went out, was he acknowledging what he had done?
As of September 2017, he was still denying all of this. And so were his comedian buddies.
This is about power and his work related abuse.
Whom did he flash? Was he flashing *up*? Meaning was he whipping his d-ck out to JLaw, Kathryn Bigelow, Kathleen Kennedy or other women in positions of power? No.
His whole ‘look at my d-ck schtick’ was about POWER. Underlings, subordinates and those who hoped-to-be-hired by him, these women were the recipients of his “largesse” (he wishes).
What I want to know is, when did (CK’s manager) Dave Becky stop trying to put out these fires? Did he threaten, uh, sorry *mediate* to try to stop this Times article?
Open the floodgates and let them all fall.
#EveryLastPerv
If a guy did that to me under the same circumstances, I would be very afraid that he was then or later going to go further into physical assault. Was he going to show up at my home? Kill my cat? You are also dismissing the context (this is somebody they were working with, who had power over their work) and the whole constellation of related fears the behavior engenders.
So there is a lot more to it than just a guy jerking off in front of of you. It’s a power trip, it’s an act of intimidation, and it completely changes how you think about the guy in an instant. One moment you’re colleagues, and the next you’re worried about being raped or stalked and trying to remember if you left the cat outside. (No lie, when I received a threatening letter, my first thought was to bring the cats inside.) And wondering who you can safely tell about it without receiving a response like yours.
YES totally get that….but this guy is so unappealing physically why would he want to do this at all? You say power trip? I believe that on some level …. but repulsing a woman in a MULTIFACETED way …. how in the fk is that a power trip??? it’s just so weird and pathetic, not to mention GROSS.
He BETTER never EVERRRR try to weasel his gnarly self in this business again.
And can you imagine how his kids feel when they find out about this??? DIVORCE this pos and make sure you get half his income is what they should do. I would never ever contact my father again if he was like that.