The Choice We Make By Supporting Louis C.K.'s Comeback

By Michael Arceneaux


In November 2017, right after years of swirling allegations, five females accused comedian Louis C.K. Of sexual misconduct via a New York Times exposé. Not long soon after, he released a statement about the stories recounted inside the article, acknowledging, “These stories are true.” At the end of his remarks, he recommended a pledge: “I have spent my long and lucky career talking and saying anything I want. I'll right now step back and take a long time to listen. Thank you for reading.”


His self-imposed exile was short-lived. Presumably rapidly bored with his listening tour, Louis C.K. Made a surprise appearance far less than each year later at the Comedy Cellar in New York in August 2018.


The owner of the club, Noam Dworman, derived some complaints. “I understand that some people will be irritated with me,” he told a New York Times reporter. “I care about my clients very much. Every complaint goes through me like a knife. And I care about doing the correct thing.”


Nevertheless, he went on to claim “there can’t be a permanent life sentence on someone who does something wrong.” And he hasn’t been alone in that stance. In a recent live interview with the editors of BUST magazine, Emily Rems and Callie Watts, for the publication’s Poptarts podcast, fellow actor and comedian Janeane Garofalo issued the following declaration: “Leave Louis C.K. Alone.”


Garofalo, who isn't Queen Cersei, and so cannot immediately get what she wants, nonetheless continued. “Enough of that,” she added. “There’s so several issues we’ve gotta be motivated on. He’s been my friend, I stand by that, he’s been my friend since 1985 and I think he has suffered and once he performs at the Comedy Cellar and people get all irate, in case you. If nothing else, care about his daughters.”


The fact there really is already a widely-contested debate over whether or not it is acceptable to book disgraced comedian Louis C.K. Is a testament to the privilege C.K., And by extension, all boys, yield.


You would think this rich, famed white man of immense privilege had been tortured by the way his apologists speak about him. Sure, he apologized. Nevertheless along the way, he claimed that he would retreat from the spotlight, only to abandon that pledge within per year. People do deserve second chances, although there’s something to be mentioned about earning them. Louis C.K. Suggested words and reneged on the actions he promised to attach to them. Boo hoo to this buckethead behaving badly.


Dworman claims that once his clientele complain, it hurts him, nevertheless it looks as if once that happens, he turns to cash for comfort. Not to say, he maintained that his club has a “swim at your own risk” policy.


Vulture recently discussed with 17 comedy bookers from across the nation on whether or not they should put the controversial comedian on their stages. Thankfully, a bevy of other comedy bookers differed from Dworman, denoting that they have a soul.


As several made plain, it’s not so much that he’s banned for all eternity; it’s that he needs to create penance. Wende Curtis, owner of the Comedy Works club in Denver, felt that C.K. Hasn't not provided that, and thus turned him down as soon as she was approached in April by C.K.’S assistant about a potential Comedy Works gig.


Admittedly, she initially responded to the assistant’s request with A list of accessible dates. “It wasn’t up until immediately after I had sent that back that I really realized, this is Louis C.K. And he wants to come in,” she explained in an interview with Jezebel.


And upon finding out more data about the allegations against him — including reaching out to one of his accusers — she ultimately wrote back to his assistant, “I just can’t.”


Nevertheless Curtis mentioned she “respects his comedy” and realizes “everybody makes mistakes” and believes in second chances, she ultimately feels that C.K. Hasn't attempted to truly make amends.


Upon more statistics and reaching out to other New York comics, Curtis assessed: “It seems like he thinks, ‘I did a fuckin’ year, fuck you, I’m coming back.’ That’s my speculation, though I don’t know. So I did mention this, from my club, from me now, it’s just not the correct thing.”


If there were any doubt about C.K.’S attitude toward the problems of his own making, imagine his controversial set from a December show in Long Island in which he mocked the survivors of the Parkland school shooting and nonbinary people.


“They tell you what to call them,” he griped about teenagers who use the pronouns they/them. “Oh, OK. You need to address me as ‘there’ because I identify as a location. And the location is your mother’s cunt.”


On the Parkland survivors: “Cause you went to a high school where kids got shot, why does that mean I have to listen to you? Why does that make you interesting? You didn’t get shot. You pushed some fat kid in the way and right now I gotta listen to you talking?”


James Dolce, the owner of Governor’s Club where C.K. Made these reprehensible remarks, took no allocate with his set. “You know who you’re coming to see,” Dolce told the Day-to-day Beast's Kevin Fallon. “The people who were mad about it probably weren’t at the show. He got a standing ovation.”


Louis C.K. Was accused, among other things, of masturbating in front of females. His answer to being outed for his despicable behavior is to right now show his ass. Zoom, look at this comeback trail go.


As much as I believe in forgiveness, that should only be afforded to those who are genuinely remorseful. Louis C.K. Isn't. He is just a tiny man who gained good fame by portraying himself to be a far more progressive and insightful straight white man on television than he was off-camera and off-stage. Right now, with his career rivaling the iPod in terms of relevancy, he has turned to a new shtick: becoming Diet Dennis Miller. It appears his frame of mind is that if he can’t make the masses laugh the way he used to, he might as well get chuckles out of these who share the political viewpoints of the likes Rush Limbaugh, Tucker Carlson, and Lou Dobbs.


If Louis C.K. Were actually interested in writing his wrongs, he would have suggested a serious act of contrition, and ideally, some form of restitution: using his voice to speak against the culture that permits males to think they have a right to harass ladies in this manner; using some of that fortune of his to assist businesses that work on the behalf of abused females and females. Anything besides cracking jokes about non-binary kids and mass shooting survivors.


It didn't have to be this way; at the very least, he may have stuck to his pledge and learned to be a higher class of person — in silence.


Although his ego and his privilege wouldn’t let him to, so right now he continues his pattern of antagonizing the most susceptible among us. If that makes you laugh, such is your right. Just know that is a choice, and undisputedly, a telling admission.


The views and suggestions expressed in this article are those of the author and never necessarily resemble the views of MTV News.