As more than two dozen protesters rallied outside Louis C.K.'s performance at a San Jose comedy club Wednesday night, the embattled comedian wasted no time inside addressing the sexual misconduct scandal that crashed his once high-flying career in comedy, TV and film, according to audience members.
After receiving a standing ovation, C.K. opened his set by saying, "I like to jerk off, and I don't like being alone," according to Daily Beast writer Stacey Solie, who attended the sold-out show at the San Jose Improv.
The masturbation joke refers to C.K. being accused in a November 2017 New York Times report of forcing female colleagues to watch him masturbate.
C.K. offered "no trace of an apology" with his joke about his sexual misconduct, according to Solie. The joke still managed to get "a good laugh," Solie added.
Another person attending the show also said that C.K. addressed the controversy at the start of the show, then noted on Twitter, "It was a really great time."
But Solie offered a somewhat different take, saying that "the first half of the show garnered a lot of laughter," including when C.K. addressed his missteps. But "the energy started to go downhill" about halfway through — after C.K. made a joke about 9/11, she said.
C.K.'s missteps involved sexual harassment claims made by five women in the New York Times report. After admitting the women's claims were true, the 51-year-old comedian, actor and director lost his production deal with FX Networks, and his film, "I Love You, Daddy" was shelved.
He kept a low profile until this past fall when he began to mount a comeback by performing in comedy clubs such as the San Jose Improv. C.K. is scheduled to perform again Thursday night. That show also is sold out.
Solie said one way C.K. addressed his missteps was with this joke: "If you ever need people to forget that you jerked off, what you do is you make a joke about kids that got shot."
The joke was a reference to his attempt to mine humor at a show last month by mocking teen survivors of the February 2018 shooting in Parkland, Fla.
"They testify in front of Congress, these kids," the Emmy winner had joked at the Governor's Comedy Club in Levittown, N.Y., on Dec. 16, according to reports. "You're not interesting because you went to a high school where kids were shot," he added. "Why does that mean I have to listen to you?"
It was jokes like that, as well as his admission of sexual harassment, that prompted about two dozen protesters to gather in the pouring rain Wednesday outside the San Jose Improv.
The rally was attended by organizers of the San Jose Women's March and the Enough is Enough Voter Project, a national political action committee aimed at targeting politicians who condone violence against woman. The groups denounced the Improv for booking the comedian.
"We are here because Louis C.K. is an admitted serial sexual harasser. He caused tremendous damage to the careers of young women comedians who were very brave and came forward against him," said Michele Dauber, founder and chairwoman of Enough is Enough.
"We do not think it's appropriate to welcome him back as a celebrity as if he has not caused all of this harm," she added. "He does not appear to really be accountable or be sorry for what he's done."
Solie wrote that C.K. demonstrated none of the "charming self-deprecation" or empathy he once successfully used to leaven some of his more abrasive and edgy humor. Solie added that there "were a lot of tired jokes," including one that relied on racial stereotypes and references to men's penis sizes.
C.K. also made jokes about "retarded" kids and "dead babies." As for the 9/11 riff that deflated a lot of energy in the room, Solie said it was one she had heard C.K. make before. It had to do with C.K. getting off a plane because a woman and her husband were offering him different takes about wanting him to move so they could sit together. "So I just got off the plane," C.K. said. "And then the plane took off. And it hit the World Trade Center."
That joke generated both laughter as well as "a lot of groans," Solie said.
The Improv defended its decision to book C.K. by saying in a statement that it doesn't "censor artists."
"We want them to perform without scrutiny," according to the statement. "We trust that our audiences can decide for themselves what their limits are. We understand that not everyone will agree with our decision and we respect their right to protest. We also respect Louis C.K.'s right to perform."
Before entering the venue, ticket holders declined to be interviewed when approached by a reporter, but one man who asked to remain anonymous said, "I like to separate the art from the artist."
The rally was peaceful, but two men who stood across the street and shouted their support for the protest got into a fight with a third man who appeared to be at the Improv for C.K.'s performance.
Police were called to the scene, but there were no arrests or citations in connection with the melee, which left one man with a bloodied face.
0 comentários:
Postar um comentário