Louis C.K’s New Comedy Special After Sexual Misconduct Allegations Is A Reminder That Cancel Culture Isn’t Real
So gross.
lev radin / Shutterstock Louis C.K. — who has spents the years since his sexual misconduct scandal decrying 'cancel culture' — has just released a new comedy special a month after getting nominated for a Grammy.
If his complaints about so-called 'cancel culture' were based on fears that his career would suffer after he admitted to several acts of sexual abuse he need not worry. It turns out the Grammys and viewers of his special are lenient on such things!
The show was filmed in front of a packed audience at Madison Square Garden this summer, it is being promoted on NBC during SNL's commercial break — a prime advertising spot.
And while streaming platforms seem to have steered clear of the special — it is available exclusively on Louis C.K's website for $10 — it is clear that the disgraced comic is in no way suffering a financial loss four years after being accused of sexual misconduct.
The special is not even his first return to stage, the Grammy nominated special "Sincerely Louis CK," was the first released since his admission.
But many are still outraged that a man so critical of cancel culture has managed to avoid accountabilty.
Why was Louis C.K. canceled?
In claims that were widely publicized in 2017, there have been multiple rumors, stories, and allegations that C.K. traps young female comics in rooms and forces them to watch him masturbate.
Gawker originally broke the story in 2012 and claimed there were many allegations that this is common practice for the comic. Since then, a New York Times report has identified five women who have accused the comic of similar acts.
One of the earliest of these allegations occured in 2002 at the Aspen Comedy Festival, Louis invited a female comedy duo back to his hotel room. They went along and offered him weed. He said no, and asked if it would be okay if he "took his d--k out."
They thought he was joking. He was not.
When he started to masturbate in front of them, they tried to exit. But he stood in front of the door and blocked it until he was finished.
Here are 6 other disturbing details we found about his alleged sexual misconduct:
1. Louis C.K's victims were scared to come forward.
One of the comics from the Aspen incident allegedly complained to the festival's organizers. Soon after, she received a call from Louis' manager saying if "she valued her career, she would drop it."
Back in 2012, the claims didn't get much attention but years later, after several other scathing allegations, this incident appears to be part of a pattern
2. C.K. allegedly grabbed one female comic by the neck.
A former fan of Louis' told Defamer that the comic came up to a woman at a comedy club, grabbed her by the back of the neck and said: "I'm going to f--k you."
The fan, who is still only going by Jason, reached out to them in 2015 claiming that he sent an email to Louis about the incident — and Louis asked to call him. The email read:
"Hey could you please stop sexually assaulting female comics? It's really uncomfortable to have to ask your hero to stop taking his penis out in front of uninterested and frightened girls, but such is life."
Louis arranged on a phone call with Jason, who told Defamer the conversation was "tilted and non-substantive." He believed Louis was trying to figure out what exactly Jason had heard. They agreed to speak again, but it seems that they did not.
3. Louis C.K. allegedly tried to masturbate in front of another co-star.
Another comedian, Rebecca Corry, said that while she was appearing with Louis C.K. on a television pilot in 2005, he asked if he could masturbate in front of her. She declined.
Corry says she reminded C.K. that he had a wife — who was pregnant at the time.
“His face got red,” she recalled, “and he told me he had issues.”
Another anonymous woman says she was pressured to watch C.K. masturbate multiple times while working with him in the 90s.
4. Roseanne Barr publicly called him out years before he was criticized.
In 2016, Roseanne Bar told The Daily Beast that she's heard plenty of stories about what Louis does to women.
“I’ve been speaking up,” she said. “It’s Louis C.K., locking the door and masturbating in front of women comics and writers. I can’t tell you—I’ve heard so many stories. Not just him, but a lot of them. And it’s just par for the course. It’s just sh-t women have to put up with.”
Later on, she added that though she doesn't have first-hand knowledge of the situation, that the allegations about Louis have been talked about for years. Roseanne also tweeted the following: “I have 0 idea if Louie #CK is a sexual offender or not, but there R MULTIPLE accusations in Hollywood’s working woman circles. He shld answer.”
5. Louis C.K. says the allegations are true.
In an interview with Vulture in 2016, Louis said that he "doesn't care" about the accusations made about him, specifically the ones Gawker publicized.
Then, in 2017 when five women accused him of misconduct, he told the New York Times: "These stories are true."
While his statement acknowledges that he took advantage of his power in order to abuse these women he never directly apologized to the victims.
6. Louis C.K. jokes about sexual misconduct in his Grammy nominated special.
It would be one thing is the Grammys was trying to overlook the allegations against the comic, but what is even more disturbing is that they seem to be rewarding his lack of apology.
In the special, C.K. makes comments that suggest his victims tricked him into thinking his misconduct was consensual.
“Men are taught to make sure the woman is okay. The thing is, women know how to seem okay when they’re not okay,” he says.
He also throws in a helping of racism in his justification.
“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.
Louis C.K. is proof that cancel culture doesn't exist.
After a brief hiatus following the allegations, C.K. has seamlessly slotted back into the world of comedy, rediscovered his audience, secured a prestigious award nomination and launched multiple comedy specials.
Survivors of the #MeToo era who've watched Bill Cosby get out of jail, Marilyn Manson's career flourish in the aftermath of many sexual abuse allegations and now this will rightfully question why these institutions continue to minimize sexual violence and give men who commit these acts a platform.
'Canceling' these men is brief, short-lived and doesn't seem to have lasting consequences on their careers.
Yet, when no one is holding these men accountable, it is often all women are left with.
Alice Kelly is a senior news and entertainment editor for YourTango. Based out of Brooklyn, New York, her work covers all things social justice, pop culture, and human interest. Keep up with her Twitter for more.