It’s been nearly two years since the media finally acknowledged the endless sexual harassment accusations against Louis CK.
Although the industry knew for years, it wasn’t until the Me Too movement that the world finally admitted it was true — and so did Louis CK.
And yet, despite Louis CK doing nothing to rectify the situation, he has managed to emerge completely unscathed. He has returned to the stage to cheers and standing ovations, he has even publicly joked about his proclivity for sexual harassment.
Well, the public might be ready to forgive and forget but fellow comedians Hannah Gadsby and Margaret Cho are not about to let him off the hook.
In a recent interview with IndieWire, Hannah said,
“He has not reassessed his position of power, and that is why he was able to abuse it. It’s difficult to see a shift in your own power and privilege. It’s not something we’re trained to do. He still honestly thinks he’s the victim in all of this.”
She continued,
“He can stop calling people the r-word, he can stop feeling sorry for himself: There’s a clear path to redemption, he’s just not taking it. He’s being self-indulgent and he’s being a cry baby. That’s not a path to redemption, that’s just throwing a tantrum for the tantrum itself.”
AMEN!
Meanwhile, Margaret Cho was also adamant that Louis hasn’t truly paid the price for his actions. She told BUST,
“I don’t think he suffered enough. I don’t think he’s suffered at all. He’s fine. He’s got plenty of money. Now he doesn’t have to work unless he really wants to go do a set somewhere. Whatever. I mean, he’s f**king fine.”
Of course, Louis isn’t the only one to walk away from the Me Too movement without “having his careers ruined.”
Aziz Ansari recently returned to the stage for a new Netflix special and, although he addressed the situation head-on, many feel he still hasn’t adequately atoned for his sins.
Others like Casey Affleck never even copped to what they did, however, and have continued their careers without a care in the world.
Both Margaret and Hannah agree that this is a much larger issue than just a few men who have been caught red-handed. Margaret said,
“Hollywood is such a strange world because when people have this perceived power, they are like emperors, it’s way beyond political office. Like, you’re getting into royal territory. The way people fall all over themselves when people are doing well in Hollywood—somebody like [Louis], he could’ve had anything. He should’ve been conscious of the fact that it would’ve been an abuse of power to even ask [women to watch him masturbate].”
(In case you forgot, Louis CK consistently asked female colleagues if he could masturbate in front of them, or worse, just whipped out his penis and started doing it.)
As for Hannah, she sees the situation slightly differently. She said,
“There’s an issue at large, and it goes across all issues of representation. I think because we think about men as the default, they don’t know how to let other people talk about their experiences without centering themselves.”
Louis is currently performing stand-up around New York and recently performed in Brooklyn where he made light of his sexual harassments. He said during his set,
“If you ever masturbate in front of someone, ask them first. If they say yes, don’t do it!”
Sounds like he *really* learned his lesson.
READ THIS NEXT
Aziz Ansari’s Latest Statement On Sexual Assault Allegations Proves Men Still Have A Long Way to Go
