Louis C.K. Comes Clean: These Stories Are True
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Louis C.K. released a statement today responding to the allegations leveled against him in a New York Times article that was published on Thursday. In the statement, he admits to the behavior that has resulted in HBO, Netflix and his film distribution company cutting ties with him.
“These stories are true,” he said in the statement. He says that there was a point in his life where he thought that there wasn’t anything wrong with the behavior because he “never showed a woman [his] dick without asking first], but says he now understands that his position of power made the question itself inappropriate. Louis says he tried to hide from the accusations and rumors, and says it wasn’t until yesterday that he realized the impact his behavior had on the women subjected to his action.
“I wish I had reacted to their admiration of me by being a good example to them as a man and given them some guidance as a comedian,” he added.
C.K. apologized not only to the women he hurt, but to his family, his manager Dave Becky who got caught up in the whirlwind, and all the people who work on projects with him, which have been jeopardized by his behavior including Better Things, Baskets, The Cops, One Mississippi, and his movie, I Love You Daddy.
Earlier today the news broke that Netflix was getting out of the Louis C.K. business, following suit after HBO had announced they would sever ties and remove C.K.’s work from their on demand service. FX, the platform with which Louis has done most of his recent work, has only said they were investigating.
I want to address the stories told to the New York Times by five women named Abby, Rebecca, Dana, Julia who felt able to name themselves and one who did not.
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.
I have been remorseful of my actions. And I’ve tried to learn from them. And run from them. Now I’m aware of the extent of the impact of my actions. I learned yesterday the extent to which I left these women who admired me feeling badly about themselves and cautious around other men who would never have put them in that position.
I also took advantage of the fact that I was widely admired in my and their community, which disabled them from sharing their story and brought hardship to them when they tried because people who look up to me didn’t want to hear it. I didn’t think that I was doing any of that because my position allowed me not to think about it.
There is nothing about this that I forgive myself for. And I have to reconcile it with who I am. Which is nothing compared to the task I left them with.
I wish I had reacted to their admiration of me by being a good example to them as a man and given them some guidance as a comedian, including because I admired their work.
The hardest regret to live with is what you’ve done to hurt someone else. And I can hardly wrap my head around the scope of hurt I brought on them. I’d be remiss to exclude the hurt that I’ve brought on people who I work with and have worked with who’s professional and personal lives have been impacted by all of this, including projects currently in production: the cast and crew of Better Things, Baskets, The Cops, One Mississippi, and I Love You Daddy. I deeply regret that this has brought negative attention to my manager Dave Becky who only tried to mediate a situation that I caused. I’ve brought anguish and hardship to the people at FX who have given me so much The Orchard who took a chance on my movie. and every other entity that has bet on me through the years.
I’ve brought pain to my family, my friends, my children and their mother.
I have spent my long and lucky career talking and saying anything I want. I will now step back and take a long time to listen.
Thank you for reading.
