Louis C.K. is the latest entertainer who has been accused of a long history of sexual misconduct.
On Thursday, The New York Times reported on five women who all claim that Louis C.K. masturbated or asked to masturbate in front of them. Dana Min Goodman, Julia Wolov, Abby Schachner, Rebecca Corry and an unnamed woman shared their stories with the publication, coming forward after years of rumors about this behavior from the comedian. In the past, Louis has denied the rumors, but the bombshell NYT story led him to cancel his appearance on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” and the New York premiere of his new movie “I Love You, Daddy.”
While Louis admitted to the allegations, writing “these stories are true” in his statement, some are calling his response a non-apology. That has made a bad situation worse.
Louis CK's statement was less of an apology and more his final attempt to masturbate in front of us all.
— Marcella Arguello (@marcellacomedy) November 11, 2017
In his statement, not once does the comedian say “I’m sorry,” though he does mention feeling regret and remorse.
Rather, he mentions his “dick” twice, discusses his projects, including “I Love You, Daddy,” and repeatedly mentions that’s he’s widely admired in the comedy world and took advantage of that. Here’s what people on Twitter had to say about his statement.
People were quick to point out that Louis never used the word “sorry.”
Just a reminder that #LouisCK mentioned his dick two times more than he mentioned being sorry. pic.twitter.com/xRJ5ir93W7
— Clementine Ford (@clementine_ford) November 12, 2017
The whole apology reads as a self-hating manifesto about a man who couldn’t control his urges. He makes a point to say that, in the past, he never thought anything was wrong with what he did because he asked first.
Saying he asked before exposing his penis enraged many, and sounded like a child caught doing something wrong yet backpedalling to avoid getting in trouble.
"I never showed a woman my dick without asking first" is not a fucking apology, Louis C.K.
— Lauren Duca (@laurenduca) November 10, 2017
☝? ☝? This!
Many couldn’t believe the amount of people praising the comedian for admitting fault.
Watching people falling over themselves to applaud a serial abuser for having the audacity to simply say his victims were telling the truth is… well… something else. #LouisCK
— Danielle Campoamor (@DCampoamor) November 10, 2017
Sure, he admitted to his behavior. However, for years he denied, which caused the women who have come forward to have serious issues and moments of discomfort in their career. And, again, he doesn’t apologize. Instead, he says he should have been more responsible with the glowing admiration he received from his colleagues.
Seriously. People could not stand all the love the “apology” was getting.
Louis C.K: I️ asked those lying bitches for permission before I️ pulled my pud in front of them, but sorry anyway I️ guess
The world: omg what a brave and eloquent apology
— Ej Dickson (@ejdickson) November 10, 2017
Ouch.
This Twitter user came up with a challenge to show how off the mark the statement is from an apology.
Louis C. K. s statement
Roll your eyes & sigh everytime the 'apology' becomes about him & his sadness.
How long did it take you to get through it? pic.twitter.com/PbWNM4emcm
— Tora [Yall Need Some Palo Santo] Shae (@BlackMajiik) November 10, 2017
I barely got a few sentences in.
The publication Quartz took on the task of editing the statement so it could look like a real apology.
Louis C.K. did not issue an apology. The word “sorry” does not appear even once. The letter is about himself and his feelings. @qz fixed that. https://t.co/Wa2Ec96RAJ
— Brianna Wu (@Spacekatgal) November 11, 2017
That’s a lot of red ink.
The statement did, however, give the world a few solid take aways.
Some things we've learned from that Louis C.K. apology:
1: A 50-yr-old man just learned whipping his dick out is bad.
2: A talented social commentator didn't know about male/female power imbalances.
3: Repeated sexual abuse is 'irresponsible' as opposed to, say, 'crimes'.
1/— Nick Pettigrew (@Nick_Pettigrew) November 10, 2017
Namely, the world learned that some older men are finally learning that unwanted flashing is a big no-no.
