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Comedians Respond To Louis C.K. News For Better And Oh For F*ck's Sakes, Damon Wayons Jr!

By Kristy Puchko | Celebrity | November 13, 2017 |

By Kristy Puchko | Celebrity | November 13, 2017 |

How did the comedy community respond when one of their most acclaimed and beloved stars was outed for sexual misconduct? Here are the good, the bad, and the holy fuck that’s awful responses to the Louis C.K. news.

A few days ahead of the NYT story breaking, Chris Rock did a set where he “joked” that he can’t hire women because “[Women] cry rape because they want money.” He’s made no statement since, regarding C.K. or anything else. (IndieWire)

Here are responses from comedians after the story hit:


That night at the Comedy Cellar, Gregg Rogell said onstage, “In Louis’ defense, he’s practicing safe sex, so leave him alone.” Jim Norton said (among other eye-rolling things), “I honestly don’t know any of the people attached to it, so I don’t know if they’re credible or not, but again, if five people say it, it’s like you’ve gotta think about it at least.” (Vulture)

The following day, C.K. issued a statement that confirmed the women’s accounts. Comedians responded on Twitter (though not Rogell or Norton):

(Yes, Lena Heady is not a comedian, but we weren’t leaving this out.)

And then Damon Wayans Jr. made a bad, bad joke.

He deleted it, explained why, but has not apologized.

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Jen Kirkman, who believed C.K.’s victims before they went public, shared how her saying so made her a target of the press. Thread.

Amy Miller called out Jim Jeffries for sexual misconduct, noting a story he tells in a special from LAST YEAR.

Here’s the video cued up. Warning, it’ll make your veins pump with rage.

Though Miller @ed Jeffries, he has not responded on Twitter.

Update: Reader PP has brought to our attention that Jeffries did touch on this kind of humor last month on The Jim Jeffries Show in response to the Weinstein scandal. He does not refer to this specific bit above, but says in part, “I was stupid to think that people like Harvey Weinstein were rare…I thought I was a pretty good guy what with all the not raping I’d done. But it turns out that’s not enough.” The relevant bit begins at 5:07.

Guy Branam noted that it was a Boys’ Club that protected the masturbating comedian while excluding women and queer comedians. He’s calling for C.K.’s fall to be the end of this exclusive and problematic environment. (Vulture)

Laurie Kilmartin shared what it’s like to be a female comedian in Louis C.K.’s world. She writes in her essay, “The truth is, if you are a woman in most professions, there are a bunch of extra rungs on your ladder to success.” (NYT)

Kath Barbadoro recounts the time she made a joke onstage about what was then C.K. rumors, and what it taught her about “open secrets.” (WaPo)

We’re going to end with Jenny Yang, who is tired of hearing people yelp over the art we’ll not see from abusers.