Marc Maron Details His Second Falling Out with Louis CK

I worked from Chicago last week, where I walked past the Chicago Theatre several times and saw on the marquee that Louis C.K. had sold out his show. In fact, he’s selling out large venues everywhere, proof that the “cancellation” of Louis C.K. didn’t hold. But it did cost him a renewed friendship with Marc Maron, his former best friend.

That’s one of the takeaways from a recent episode of WTF with Marc Maron, which will officially end its run on October 13. On today’s show, Maron welcomed Judd Apatow, a longtime fan of the podcast, to relive highlights from its long run. It’s more than just a clip show, though — it’s a fascinating episode where Maron revisits many of the podcast’s biggest moments, including his interviews with President Obama and Robin Williams, the infamous Gallagher walkout, and, of course, the conversation with Louis C.K. that helped elevate the podcast to the next level.

Longtime listeners know that many of those early episodes featured Maron’s old Comedy Store pals, often mixing nostalgia with the hashing out of old grudges. Louis C.K.’s appearance was especially significant because it marked the first time the two had spoken after their falling out, which Louis correctly attributed to Maron’s resentment of his success. (It’s a recurring theme; Maron’s rift with Jon Stewart has also been chalked up to jealousy and resentment, though that feud seems largely one-sided.)

On that episode, Maron and Louis buried the hatchet, reconciled, and made a real effort to revive their friendship. But the friendship ended again in 2017, after Louis admitted that the sexual misconduct allegations against him were true. As Maron recalled on today’s podcast, Louis felt betrayed because Maron publicly described his behavior as “boundary-shattering” and “traumatizing,” insisted there was “no way to justify” it, and raised questions about who knew what and when. (Maron said he had confronted Louis in the past, but Louis had denied everything.)

The point is, Louis didn’t take kindly to being called out by Maron. What I didn’t know until today’s episode, however, is that after being “cancelled,” Louis reached out to ask if he could return to the show and explain himself. Maron agreed in theory, but told him he had no interest in revisiting his own condemnation. Since Louis saw no point in appearing without addressing that, he declined to do so. That was the end of it, though Maron noted that when he’s run into Louis lately on the comedy scene, his former friend has been cordial. Still, there’s no real love lost between them, it seems.

The whole episode is worth a listen, if only to revisit Robin Williams’ old interview, a spectacular tale Molly Shannon once told on a live episode, and a bonkers-but-touching story the late Mike DeStefano told about the last time he saw his wife before she died.

Source: WTF with Marc Maron