Headlining set for Netflix Is a Joke festival marks first outing with major streamer since misconduct allegations in 2017
Netflix is welcoming Louis CK back into its fold.
The comedian, long subject to questions regarding rehabilitation and so-called “cancel culture”, will headline a show at the Hollywood Bowl next month as part of the streamer’s Netflix Is a Joke festival – his first major outing with a streamer since allegations of sexual misconduct at the height of the #MeToo movement. Later this summer, Netflix will also premiere CK’s new special, Ridiculous, which he directed and executive-produced.
The projects represent the first time that Netflix has worked with the comedian since his 2017 special Louis CK 2017, which premiered months before a New York Times report in which five women, including fellow female comedians, accused CK of sexual misconduct – specifically, that he exposed himself and masturbated in front of several women (or asked to do so), and that his agent knew about it. CK later admitted to the allegations – “these stories are true,” he said – and said that, at the time, he believed his behavior was appropriate, because he asked first. “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,” he added. “It’s a predicament for them. The power I had over these women is that they admired me. And I wielded that power irresponsibly.”
