Louis C.K. abused his power in the comedy scene and used it to his sexual advantage, admitted as much, and still goes on to sell out Madison Square Garden. Truly, that’s the latest in the sea of Louis C.K.’s “comeback” tour that has been going on since 2018. The comedian was once at the peak of his career with things like his show Louie and stand-up specials, but then he openly admitted to sexual misconduct and it seemed, for a few brief months, like he was taking time to reflect.
And then he said “lol jk” and came back to doing stand-up with plenty of men foaming at the mouth to praise him for evading cancel culture. (Sure, women probably still listen to Louis C.K., but not women I talk to, so that’s on them, not me.) Now though, Louis C.K.’s frustrating rise back to popularity has resulted in a sold-out show at Madison Square Garden.
Boy, is it frustrating to be a woman in this world. Louis C.K. was, at one point, a huge comedian with his own television shows, guest roles on popular sitcoms, and someone who people genuinely liked to listen to. And then the rumors started. It was a well-known “secret” in the comedy world that women shouldn’t go into a room alone with Louis C.K., so his desire to wield his power in the comedy world was not unknown. But none of that was enough to stop him from selling out major venues, so what’s the point?
Even though he admitted to doing the things he was accused of, he still went on to sell out one of the biggest stages in the world. And that’s someone who admitted to it. So where does it end?
Why is it frustrating to see Louis C.K. continue to succeed?
On the one hand, there are those who think that enough time has passed and that he should be given the green light to go ahead and do comedy again. But that’s not really right, because at the end 2017, all of this came out and he admitted to doing it, and then by early-to-mid 2018, he was back doing stand-up and joking about the situation. What that tells to me is that this man learned nothing and gets to go and be a beacon for male fragility and abuse of power.
In 2017, Louis C.K. admitted to sexual misconduct allegations. He said, in his own words, that they were true: “These stories are true. At the time, I said to myself that what I did was okay because I never showed a woman my dick without asking first, which is also true. But what I learned later in life, too late, is that when you have power over another person, asking them to look at your dick isn’t a question. It’s a predicament for them. The power I had over these women is that they admired me. And I wielded that power irresponsibly.” That is what Louis C.K. himself said.
He barely took a pause from performing for this admission, and then everyone who was upset by it was constantly told to get over it because what else was Louis C.K. supposed to do if he couldn’t be a famous comedian?
The never-ending cycle
Louis C.K. taking his “break” from stand-up and comedy because of the situation is honestly laughable. His apology and his admission all just mean nothing at this point because he turned around and made it a joke. He stood on stage and joked about his situation, and people praised him for it. He became emblematic of how “cancel culture” will not take these men down, despite everyone’s complaints about it. The conversation became pointless, and a mess, all because one man made some people laugh one time.
Women had their careers derailed, were silenced, and had a man abuse his power over them. And yet the man who did it published what now reads as a fake apology and then went on to keep doing stand-up. Nothing changes, and it’s frustrating to see that Louis C.K. can still sell out venues like Madison Square Garden.
I’m fully prepared for some angry man in my email to be talking about how I should shut up or how it doesn’t matter what he did—that he apologized and that I should get over it. I know some man will write some gross thing to me in defense of Louis C.K. and I don’t care, because there are people who are funnier and more qualified than Louis C.K. ever was. But go ahead and laugh at bad jokes instead of knowing actual comedy and supporting people who deserve it.
(featured image: Rich Fury/Getty Images)
Published: Jan 30, 2023 05:54 pm