Louis C.K. Downplays His Sexual Misconduct in Controversial New Special
By Jordan Moreau
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Disgraced comedian Louis C.K. has returned with a surprise stand-up special, after admitting to several accounts of sexual misconduct in the 2010s. He was one of the first men in Hollywood whose behavior came to light during the #MeToo movement, but he started to re-emerge in comedy clubs in 2018 with new material.
He jokes about his misconduct and infamy in the new special, “Sincerely Louis C.K,” which was released for $7.99 on his website Saturday. He’s greeted with a standing ovation from a packed Washington D.C. crowd, and immediately dives into the controversy and where he’s been lately.
“How was your last couple of years? How was 2018 and 2019 for you guys? Anybody else get in global amounts of trouble?” he asks the crowd.
He continues, “I learned a lot. I learned how to eat alone in a restaurant with people giving me the finger from across the room.”
C.K. bookends the set with jokes about his sexual misconduct and the accounts of him masturbating in front of women. He adds that he had to go on an international tour because “I thought I should leave the nation. Thought it was a good idea. Would have left the planet if they had another one of those.”
In the closing minutes, he discusses consent and how it needs to be clear and ongoing.
“If you want to do it with someone else, you need to ask first. But if they say yes, you still don’t get to go ‘Woo!’ and charge ahead. You need to check in often, I guess that’s what I’d say. It’s not always clear how people feel,” he says. “
Men are taught to make sure the woman is okay. The thing is, women know how to seem okay when they’re not okay.”
C.K. then makes a racist and misogynistic comparison to women having sex and slaves singing while they were forced to work.
“It’s kind of like a Negro spiritual. It’s sort of similar. So to assume that she likes it is like if they heard slaves singing in the field and you’re like, ‘Hey, they’re having a good time out there,’” he says.
He also addressed why he liked to masturbate in front of women.
“I like jerking off, I don’t like being alone, that’s all I can tell you. I get lonely, it’s just sad. I like company. I like to share. I’m good at it, too. If you’re good at juggling, you wouldn’t do it alone in the dark. You’d gather folks and amaze them,” he says.
Throughout the profanity-filled special, C.K. makes jokes about necrophilia, pedophilia, terrorism, people with disabilities, the Holocaust and other touchy subjects, much to the audience’s amusement. In one joke about ordering sushi, he also puts on a stereotypical Japanese accent.
