My thoughts on the Louis C.K. news
Recently, there has been a slew of actors and public figures who have been outed for sexual harassment and assault. To name a few: Kevin Spacey, Harvey Weinstein, Bill Cosby, and Bill O’Reilly.
Each case has created an uproar from fans, with people either denying that the man in question did what he was accused of or getting emotional over the news. I wondered why anyone took these cases personally. After all, I thought, these celebrities are just normal people with power — times 100 — and power corrupts.This past week, these same allegations were made against Louis C.K. News broke accusing him of pleasuring himself in front of five women on separate occasions. I now understand why people felt so upset over the allegations against those other celebrities.
Louis C.K. has been one of my biggest inspirations. He was everything I wanted to be and influenced me to be who I am today. He was outspoken, unapologetic, witty, thoughtful, and the champion of morals in comedy. He often spoke about injustice and supported women and the downtrodden. His jokes were raunchy, but they were funny. Or at least, I thought they were.
It makes sense that someone with insight and experience in sexual harassment would have a lot of in-depth observations on the subject. The punchline to a surrealist joke isn’t a punchline if it’s real.
I felt like a rock was thrown at my head when I heard the news. I idolized Louis. When I was in a tough situation, where I had the choice to either run or fight for what’s right, I would think, “What would Louis do?” He acted as my ethical guide. To stand up and push back against immorality.Now, I think that maybe the lessons Louis taught me are wrong. I question if I should be the person that revering Louis made me. He released a long-winded apology the day after the news broke, saying that the accusations are true. He confirmed what I thought. In his letter, Louis stated: “The power I had over these women is that they admired me. And I wielded that power irresponsibly.”
The statement felt disingenuous; less of a plea for forgiveness and more a mere acknowledgement of the event. He makes five references to how powerful and well-liked he is in the comedy community, but doesn’t actually use the words ‘sorry’ or ‘apologize.’
It reads more like he’s trying to gain sympathy for being the victim of his own success. I know it sounds like I’m over-reacting, but Louis was a better companion to me than most people I know. He was always there for me through his stand-up when I needed him. If I was sad, he made me laugh. If I needed advice, Louis had an answer. But the joke’s not funny anymore and the rose-coloured glasses are broken. The last lesson I’ll learn from Louis C.K. is to never look up to someone you don’t know.
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