Should Louis C.K. be allowed to come back?
The 360 is a feature designed to show you diverse perspectives on the day’s top stories.
What’s happening
It has been over a year since the #MeToo moment when five women alleged that Louis C.K. masturbated in front of them without their consent. He confirmed it was true and dropped out of public life. Now the disgraced comedian is attempting a comeback, raising the question: Will fans, critics and the comedy world allow his return?
C.K. first retook the stage in Long Island, N.Y., in October, and a leaked recording of his set revealed jokes mocking survivors of the school shooting in Parkland, Fla., political correctness around the word “retarded” and trans teens.
The backlash was immediate from the Parkland community and fellow comics (although his longtime friend Janeane Garofolo defended him). C.K. kicked off the new year with a string of sold out sets in Albany, N.Y., and in California – showing that some fans are willing to forgive. He dished up mostly the same material (minus the Parkland bit), and some new jokes about the sexual misconduct that derailed his career.
The views on whether he deserves a second chance or permanent pariah status — and whether any material should be off-limits for standup — are varied and heated.
Perspectives
The Parkland joke is what happens when comedy fails. “It’s possible to make funny jokes about painful subjects – whether it’s necessary is a different question – but not if one’s examination of those subjects is entirely superficial. If Louis C.K. assumes that his right to comment rests on the fact that he is a comedian, that right is surely rescinded when his jokes are so patently unfunny. When dark humor isn’t funny, it’s just dark.” – Holly Thomas,
Comedy should be transgressive, not politically correct. “Mocking the Parkland kids is taboo. And taboo-busting was a great compliment. Still is. C.K. was being transgressive. And transgressive was a great compliment. Still is. One almost begins to entertain a rumor of a hint of a suspicion that the culture cops don’t approve of transgression per se, but only of the transgression of boundaries cherished by people they don’t like.” – Kyle Smith,
C.K. deserves a second chance. “Louis C.K. did terrible, abusive things that truly hurt people. He got caught. He got punished. The way back is a return to meaningful comedy. … That doesn’t mean he has to be nice. We wouldn’t want that from him; Louis C.K. making jokes about nagging mothers-in-law or the annoyances of air travel or would be even worse than no new material from him at all.” – Steve Barnes,
Comics can tackle taboos, but the jokes have to be funny – and C.K.’s aren’t. “I don’t believe Louis C.K. should be censored or publicly shamed into perpetual unemployment. People can choose to see him or not. But in these times, when comedy can be idealized as edgy, audacious and truth-telling, we can forget: It begins with a calling to be funny. Otherwise, a comic is no more interesting than any other muttering blowhard who craves attention.” – Scott Simon,
C.K. should tackle his failings with the courage and honesty that defined his best comedy. “Imagine what Louis C.K. could do with his failings if he tackled them head on. I’m not talking about a fairy-tale ending. He will always have to live with his shame. The women he mistreated will always have to live with what he took from them. But he could give us a singular gift by helping us engage with why men take advantage of women in this way and why they double down to avoid blame and responsibility.” – Psychotherapist Avi Klein,
It’s OK to feel sorry for C.K. “If audiences are frustrated that comedy clubs are still booking him, and C.K.’s material is a mess, his set at Governor’s Comedy Club ought to provide some sense that he’s being punished. Losing what C.K. said is millions of dollars is a hefty, one-time penalty for what seems to have been an ongoing pattern of misconduct. And if that’s not enough, he apparently has been sentenced to a life of straining for laughs in comedy clubs, trying to remind everyone of who he used to be — before the world found out who he was all along.” – Alyssa Rosenberg,
What happens next
Despite the backlash, many fans are supporting C.K., and tickets are selling out for the small venues where he has booked his recent slate of pop-up performances – a show in Albany sold out in less than 45 minutes. The debate is likely to continue over whether it’s really possible for C.K. to stage a comeback and critics and fans may disagree.
A fan at his latest show said, “Everyone deserves a road to redemption.”
