This past Thursday, five women came forth with allegations of sexual misconduct by Louis C.K. And now, Louis C.K. has issued a statement. He says it’s all true.
In a letter to The New York Times, C.K. admitted to masturbating in front of several women.
Here is his letter:
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 O.K. because I never showed a woman my d*** 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 d*** 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 for 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.
Did you catch it? It’s barely an apology. Essentially, he says he’s never unwillingly exposed himself, and that he didn’t realize the power he had over these women would scar them.
To note, in the original story, the women thought it was a joke. Moreover, they were not willing to go along with C.K. That’s like a rapist claiming he asked for consent, but doesn’t mention the victim said “no”.
Louis C.K. continues:
(t)here is nothing about this that I forgive myself for. And I have to reconcile it with who I am.
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 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.
At least he didn’t come out in his letter a la Kevin Spacey?
