A Brief History of Louis CK's Non-Apologies

Today I’d like to discuss the latest in Louis CK news, but first, an update on the subject of my last newsletter. According to a Netflix representative, Mark Normand lied when he said he persuaded a team of Netflix execs to admit that Muslims are dangerous. The unnamed source told The Hollywood Reporter that, in fact, Normand was not even present on the call to discuss his special’s promo clips:

But a Netflix source strongly denies most components of Normand’s story. The kernel of truth, the source said, is “we advised him that we’re a global company and to be careful with the clips and jokes he used to promote the special on his own social channels.” But the source says the idea that a Netflix executive would portray Muslims as a dangerous threat on a conference call, let alone verbally agree with Normand that they’re a “dangerous people,” is “not true, not correct, completely false.” What’s more, the source says Normand wasn’t even on the call, only his reps. So the idea of a back-and-forth dialogue between Normand and the executives didn’t happen (“It’s an embellishment”).

Perhaps it’s worth taking this denial with a grain of salt: a few months ago Matt Damon claimed (on Joe Rogan’s podcast, no less) that Netflix asks filmmakers to make sure their dialogue restates plot points over and over “because people are on their phones while they’re watching.” An Oscars sketch featuring Conan O’Brien and Sterling K. Brown made the same point last month, and in response Netflix said what they just said here: that it’s all bunk, they do no such thing. To my eye Matt Damon is a much more credible figure than Mark Normand, though, and Netflix’s denial doesn’t exactly hold up to all of the evidence on Netflix’s platform. Normand has yet to address the story; I’ll keep my eye out.

Louis CK Really Wants to Say He's Sorry

Louis CK Is a Sex Predator

The New York Times argues that CK’s recent work is underexamined. Sure, but so are his sex offenses.

HumorismSeth Simons

Netflix announced this week that it will release confessed sex predator Louis CK’s new special later this year, and that Louis CK will headline a show at the Hollywood Bowl during next month’s Netflix Is A Joke Festival. There's pretty much nothing new to say about the disgraced comedian's return to grace, but I've never let that stop me. Here's what I've got for you today:

One thing I’ve noticed in recent conversations with friends and acquaintances who pay casual attention to comedy is a general impression that Louis CK apologized for sexually abusing his colleagues. These people are often surprised to learn that, almost ten years later, he never has. He's said things that resemble apologies, but none of them have ever actually amounted to a straightforward statement that he is sorry for abusing his colleagues. Perhaps you think this is pedantic; I don't, because we're dealing with a guy famous for writing words to express his thoughts and feelings. In case you ever find yourself in my shoes, let’s recap the basic facts. 

After the New York Times story came out in 2017, Louis CK issued a statement in which he said that his victims’ stories were true, though he reframed their encounters as consensual and the product of him misreading their admiration. (Some form of the word “admire” appears five times in his brief response.) Notably, he did not say he was sorry; the closest he came was saying “I have been remorseful of my actions” and “I’ve tried to learn from them.” These claims are unconvincing in light of the 2016 Vulture interview where he said the rumors about him were “nothing” and “not real.” Still, he said he would step back and take a long time to listen. The fruits of that listening appeared to be his 2020 special, Sincerely Louis CK, in which he again insisted that his actions were consensual:

If you’ve ever ask somebody, “May I jerk off in front of you,” and they say yes, just say, “Are you sure?” That’s the first part. And then if they say yes, just don’t fucking do it…. Check in, because it’s not always clear how people feel…. 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 fields, and they’re like, “Hey, you’re having a great time out there!”

Sincerely Louis CK was apparently the polished endpoint of a much rougher set he presented at Governor’s Comedy Club in Long Island in December 2018, scarcely more than a year after—as he put it to Adam Carolla a few months ago—the Times story put him out of the business. As you may recall, he spent this set complaining about pronouns (“You should address me as ‘there’ because I identify as a location, and the location is your mother’s cunt.”) and mocking the survivors of the Parkland massacre (“You’re not interesting because you went to a high school where kids got shot. Why does that mean I have to listen to you? How does that make you interesting? You didn’t get shot. You pushed some fat kid in the way. Now I gotta listen to you talkin’?”). Again, this was what he came up with after taking all that time to listen.

Louis CK’s New Special Is Amazing, Say Louis CK’s Friends

Everything’s back to normal.

HumorismSeth Simons

Some years passed in which Louis CK worked closely with a number of right-wing comedians who, I believe it is safe to say, don’t think he did anything wrong: Joe Rogan, Dave Chappelle, Tim Dillon, Theo Von, Shane Gillis, Mark Normand, Joe List. That period also saw numerous allegations of sexual abuse against other comedians in Louis CK’s milieu—Jeff Ross, Chris D’Elia, Bryan Callen—about which the supposedly reformed Louis CK had nothing to say. Nor did he comment on Chappelle’s high-profile mockery of one of his victims; nor has he had any further thoughts to offer on his former manager Dave Becky, the Hollywood kingpin who helped cover up for him. In late 2020, Louis CK appeared in a Showtime documentary about the Comedy Store in which A-list comedians like Bill Burr and Jay Leno complained about his treatment. In his own conversation with director Mike Binder, he told the story of a chess shop owner in France who compared him to Jesus: “You are a great martyr for history. And like the martyr you will be crucified and destroyed, and then you will live on.”

Louis CK, Moron

Also: Theo Von and Nimesh Patel, Morons.

HumorismSeth Simons

It was not until an appearance on Theo Von’s podcast last year that Louis CK revealed he’s been in treatment for sex and love addiction, and more, that he would really like to apologize for hurting people, but it’s just too big of a thing to apologize for:

CK: … There's so many times where I just want to come out and tell people I'm fucking sorry. I'm really sorry. I hurt people. And I've felt like in the way that it was so hard to take all of that once, that much anger at once, it's like, I just don't have a "sorry" that covers it. And I don't have only one feeling. "Sorry" is not the only feeling I have. And so I don't want to say something—and I'm scared of the way that anything I say can be used by other people. There's all kind of fears that come up and I'm very raw in that space. 

But that's all because I'm making these choices to stay in this. And it's 'cause I love the work and I want to share it. So I guess I really wish there was, I could have a simple kind of watershed where I can say, just, "yes to everything that happened and I'm sorry." I really am. And I'm just trying to do better. And I don't think I can prove that to everybody, 'cause it's a private thing. It's a one-to-one man thing. It's not a famous guy act. But I got work that I want to share with people. I have work that I think is worthy.  And there—if you don't like it, you don't like it. That's that's always okay with me. When I'm on stage and I'm talking and people aren't accepting it. That’s okay. Fair enough, man. And nobody owes me nothing. I’m trying. We’ll see what happens.

"Everything I say affects people that love me and people that I’m related to."

Von: Dude. I'm kind of like—in a weird way, I know this sounds crazy, maybe crazy to say. It's almost like—well I think so many of us probably needed—we needed a guy like you to have some of the same problem, because you have such an ability to look at things and kind of like examine ‘em. And it's like we needed an astronaut—I know it sounds crazy, but it's like we needed like an Neil Armstrong like you to walk out there and report what you’re feeling under your feet. Because it’s like, so many people are struggling, and you say things, dude, that the rest of us just cannot put into words. And it’s just such a gift that you have.

CK: Well, it’s been a little bit painful, because I felt that. And when it happened, like, “Hey, this is an opportunity. I can tell people what it’s like, and I can really come back with something great to say.” But I just couldn’t. I couldn’t do it, I was too scared, and I was too fighting for my life, and also worried about other people in my life. Everything I say affects people that love me and people that I’m related to. And I can’t just decide what’s gonna fix it. And also I’m completely confused by it. I still live with this thing every day. It’s still part of my everyday life, it still imposes limits on me every day. And I still don’t know what to do about it. I really don’t. It’s confusing.

In contrast to his 2017 statement, where he (misleadingly) said what he did but neglected to say he was sorry for it, here he says he’s sorry but neglects to say what for. The best he can muster is that he hurt and used people; even so, he can’t help but repeat that he obtained their permission:

Von: I think there was one time you said, because you've been through a lot of stuff in your career—you'd had—this is when things had gotten kind of crazy in your career with accusations and all types of stuff—and accurate accusations—

CK: Accurate accusations. [Laughter]

Von: But you said, "man, I feel so free." And there was something about that to me, I think about that once a week. I think about just the little pieces of ourselves that we try to manage and operate and we don't even know what they are and we don't even know why they're in pieces. It's like trying to put some glass together so you can get a clear reflection of yourself, and it's just like, fuck, how did this, I didn't even break this, and I'm just so tired of cutting my fucking fingers, trying to get a look at myself.

CK: Yeah, you're trying to piece together that broken mirror and cutting your fingers. That's beautiful. It is true. And when life fucks it up for you, when it gets torn up, it's a relief. That's why I felt free because I had tried to manage these problems I had inside of me for so many years, and I tried to feel like I was a normal person or that I was what I thought of as a good person, but I was doing shit in the background in my life that I was ashamed of. I was hurting other people and trying to tell myself I wasn't. And those things on the edge, using another person but you got their permission first—you're still using another person. You're not being with them, you're using them.

To be clear, Louis CK said all this in the context of promoting his novel Ingram. Elsewhere in the conversation he told Von that he’s already finished his second novel. He just last month completed a tour of Europe and Asia, he headlined the Riyadh Comedy Festival last year, and evidently he found the time to shoot a special for Netflix. In other words, this is an incredibly driven, productive man, a wealthy man, and undoubtedly a powerful man who is still highly regarded by pretty much all of the most famous comedians working today. His wealth is relevant insofar as it means there is much he could do to make amends for his abuses, from simple restitution to investing in systemic fixes; his power is relevant because it means there are many people who take seriously what he has to say. It is just so very strange, then, that Louis CK has yet to manage the apology he’d so dearly love to give. 

Comedy Is a Safe Space for Abuse

Some thoughts about what’s happening.

HumorismSeth Simons