Louis CK Shrugs Off Sexual Assault Allegations

I Love You, Daddy, Louis CK’s latest feature film, hits all the notes of a semi-autobiographical dramedy that has become the trademark style of the comedian-turned-filmmaker: the hardship of being a single dad while coping with problems of his own, a morally questionable dilemma that is designed to take people out of their comfort zone, and a moment of self-inquiry that leads to little resolve, all of which are shot and delivered in 35 millimeter black-and-white film and a very "New York City" score.

Despite the film's aesthetic accomplishment, Louis C.K. has found himself at the centerstage of media scrutiny, largely driven by its plot that, at least for some, is too reminiscent of sexual misconduct allegations that have been following him like a shadow over the last few years.

C.K.'s first directorial work since the release of his ill-fated 2001 comedy film Pootie Tang, I Love You, Daddy tells the story of Glen Topher (played by Louis C.K.), an accomplished yet emotionally unavailable New York City writer who must come to terms with the fact that his 17-year-old daughter (played by Chloë Grace Moretz) is being courted by Leslie Goodwin (played by John Malkovich), an esteemed filmmaker and rumored pedophile who is four times her age. If that sounds familiar, it’s because the plot resembles the troubling story of a fellow comic-turned-director and a prime influence on CK’s works whose career has been overshadowed by sexual misconduct allegation: Woody Allen.

Upon its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival last week, the film has been met with polarizing reviews from the critics, but far more importantly, its provocative storyline has kindled another spate of unsubstantiated rumors about the director's sexual proclivities, mainly how he forces women to watch him masturbate without their consent on several occasions.

The latest surge of rumors stems from Tig Notaro, a fellow comic and the creator of the Amazon comedy series One Mississippi, who remarked that C.K. needs to “handle” these allegations during an interview with The Daily Beast last month. Further complicating the issues, Louis C.K. serves as an executive producer on Notaro’s show.

“I think it’s important to take care of that, to handle that, because it’s serious to be assaulted,” said Notaro. “It’s serious to be harassed. It’s serious, it’s serious, it’s serious.”

Rumors about C.K.’s misconduct first began circulating not long after his epic rise to stardom in 2012, following a blind-item article published by Gawker.

At the Aspen Comedy Festival a few years ago, he invited a female comedy duo back to his hotel room. The two ladies gladly joined him, and offered him some weed. He turned it down, but asked if it would be OK if he took his dick out.

Thinking he was joking (that’s exactly the kind of thing this guy would say), the women gave a facetious thumbs up. He wasn’t joking. When he actually started jerking off in front of them, the ladies decided that wasn’t their bag and made for the exit. But the comedian stood in front of the door, blocking their way with his body, until he was done.

Three years later, comedian Jen Kirkman made headlines after making some very pointed allegations in C.K.’s direction. In an episode of her podcast, which was originally released in June 2015 and has since been deleted, she remarked on the allegations:

. “And then I had another guy who is a very famous comic. He is probably at Cosby level at this point. He is lauded as a genius. He is basically a French filmmaker at this point. You know, new material every year. He’s a known perv. And there’s a lockdown on talking about him. His guy friends are standing by him, and you cannot say a bad thing about him. And I’ve been told by people ‘Well then say it then. Say it if it’s true.’ If I say it, my career is over. My manager and my agent have told me that. They didn’t threaten it. They just said to me ‘You know what Jen, it’s not worth it because you’ll be torn apart. Look at the Cosby women.’ And this guy didn’t rape me, but he made a certain difficult decision to go on tour with him really hard. Because I knew if I did, I’d be getting more of the same weird treatment I’d been getting from him. And it was really fucked up, and this person was married. So it was not good, and so I hold a lot of resentment.”

Then another year later, Rosanne Barr, unsurprisingly, just called him out by name.

For his part, C.K. hasn't exactly shied away from addressing the allegations, although his response has been categorically dismissive since he first told Vulture in an interview last year that the allegations “mean nothing” to him. In his most recent interview with the New York Times about his film, C.K. once again pulled out the "no comment" card, saying that he has absolutely no interest in entertaining such rumors.

“I’m not going to answer to that stuff, because they’re rumors,” said CK. “If you actually participate in a rumor, you make it bigger and you make it real.”

But no matter how hard "the comedian's comedian" tries to bury himself in his work, it's unlikely that the rumors will subside anytime soon, especially considering C.K.'s penchant for pushing the envelope and an unmistakable parallel between the film's plot and Woody Allen's fall from grace in recent years, or at least until C.K. does something other than putting his fingers in his ears and say “I can’t hear you.”