Many have been targeted as part of the #MeToo movement as women speak up about the abuse they've encountered in the past. The entertainment industry was shaken up over the last few years as films had to be recast, people were sent to trial, and famed actors and comedians were disgraced. Harvey Weinstein and Bill Cosby come to mind as the two that have faced the most heat but Louis C.K. is right up there with them. The funnyman has been making his way back into comedy clubs after he was accused by several women of sexual misconduct. The allegations last year included claims that he had masturbated in front of women without their consent. During a recent interview with Howard Stern, Sarah Silverman spoke about the allegations, saying that C.K. had masturbated in front of her in the past but she had given him her consent.
Silverman was a guest on Howard Stern's radio show today when she spoke about her peer. "I don’t know if I’m going to regret saying this," started Silverman. "I’ve known Louis forever, I’m not making excuses for him, so please don’t take this that way. We are peers. We are equals. When we were kids, and he asked if he could masturbate in front of me, sometimes I’d go, ‘Fuck yeah I want to see that!’ It’s not analogous to the other women that are talking about what he did to them. He could offer me nothing. We were only just friends. So sometimes, yeah, I wanted to see it, it was amazing. Sometimes I would say, ‘Fucking no, gross,’ and we got pizza."
According to Variety, Silverman used the story to explain why she believes C.K. doesn't understand the implications of his actions. She continued, "I’m not saying what he did was okay. I’m just saying at a certain point, when he became influential, not even famous, but influential in the world of comedy, it changes. He felt like he was the same person, but the dynamic was different and it was not okay."
Louis C.K. is attempting to make his way back into the world of comedy and so far, he's been accepted by some. However, it will be a long time before the bad taste disappears from most people's mouths.