Update: Louis C.K. has issued a statement regarding the claims made against him by women working within the comedy and film industries. You can read the full statement below:
I want to address the stories told to the New York Times by five women named Abby, Rebecca, Dana, Julia who felt able to name themselves and one who did not.
These stories are true. At the time, I said to myself that what I did was okay because I never showed a woman my dick without asking first, which is also true. But what I learned later in life, too late, is that when you have power over another person, asking them to look at your dick isn’t a question. It’s a predicament for them. The power I had over these women is that they admired me. And I wielded that power irresponsibly.
I have been remorseful of my actions. And I've tried to learn from them. And run from them. Now I’m aware of the extent of the impact of my actions. I learned yesterday the extent to which I left these women who admired me feeling badly about themselves and cautious around other men who would never have put them in that position.
I also took advantage of the fact that I was widely admired in my and their community, which disabled them from sharing their story and brought hardship to them when they tried because people who look up to me didn't want to hear it. I didn't think that I was doing any of that because my position allowed me not to think about it.
There is nothing about this that I forgive myself for. And I have to reconcile it with who I am. Which is nothing compared to the task I left them with.
I wish I had reacted to their admiration of me by being a good example to them as a man and given them some guidance as a comedian, including because I admired their work.
The hardest regret to live with is what you've done to hurt someone else. And I can hardly wrap my head around the scope of hurt I brought on them. I’d be remiss to exclude the hurt that I’ve brought on people who I work with and have worked with who’s professional and personal lives have been impacted by all of this, including projects currently in production: the cast and crew of Better Things, Baskets, The Cops, One Mississippi, and I Love You Daddy. I deeply regret that this has brought negative attention to my manager Dave Becky who only tried to mediate a situation that I caused. I’ve brought anguish and hardship to the people at FX who have given me so much The Orchard who took a chance on my movie. and every other entity that has bet on me through the years.
I’ve brought pain to my family, my friends, my children and their mother.
I have spent my long and lucky career talking and saying anything I want. I will now step back and take a long time to listen.
Original article:
Yesterday afternoon the New York Times released a bombshell report detailing allegations of sexual misconduct against comedian Louis C.K., and in the wake, companies and networks are already distancing themselves from him. This includes production company The Orchard, which announced that it would no longer be distributing C.K.’s latest film, I LOVE YOU, DADDY.
The news comes after the company canceled the New York premiere of the movie right before the report was published. The movie was set to be released on November 17 in limited markets before going wide. Orchard purchased the movie for $5 million dollars out of the Toronto International Film Festival, which made it the biggest deal out of the festival (tied with Neon’s deal for I, TONYA).
There’s no word out there on if Orchard will be able to get their money back for the purchase, which the studio made in hopes of having a major Oscar contender on their hands. Despite so-so reviews, Orchard had already sent out screeners for awards consideration before the report came out.
Orchard is not alone in distancing itself from C.K., as HBO is also severing ties with the comedian. Along with removing his comedy specials from their services, the network is also removing all episodes of his short-lived show, LUCKY LOUIE, and has removed him from their line-up of celebrities for “Night of Too Many Stars.”
No word yet on if the network FX will also be cutting the cord with C.K., as they have numerous projects going with the star, including his producing work on the Zach Galifianakis-led BASKETS, and BETTER THINGS with Pamela Adlon. There’s also the matter of his show, LOUIE, which aired it’s most recent season a few years ago. However, the company put out a statement saying they were “troubled by the accusations but that, “The network has received no allegations of misconduct by Louis C.K. related to any of our 5 shows produced together over the past 8 years. FX Networks and FXP take all necessary actions to protect our employees and thoroughly investigate any allegations of misconduct within our workplace. That said, the matter is currently under review.”
This comes after allegations against Harvey Weinstein virtually obliterated his career, with several organizations banning him for life, as well as fallout for actor Kevin Spacey, who was accused of numerous acts of sexual harassment recently. As a result, Netflix severed all ties with the actor, while his new movie, ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD, is being reshot with actor Christopher Plummer replacing him.