Louis CK's Return To The Stage

KMarko covered this earlier and teased that my thoughts were coming:  here are those thoughts.

Louis CK dropped in to the Cellar last night and took the stage. He received a standing ovation, and it appears that it was his first standup performance since the NY Times exposed his pattern of sexual misconduct last November.  Of course his return received mixed opinions on the internet. Some people thought it was too soon; others thought he should never be allowed to perform again. Personally, as a fan of comedy and of Louis CK, I was thrilled.

I’m aware that my opinion on Louis’ transgressions come from a very unaffected place. Meaning, I was never forced to watch him masturbate; I was never in the room; I never had to worry about my professional standing, to worry about speaking out against my boss because it might get me fired. I can’t imagine feeling handcuffed like that. If Dave called me in to his office one day and asked me if it was ok if he jerked off to completion while I watched, I don’t think I’d be too thrilled.

But I do think that each “crime” is different. And make no mistake– Louis took a major financial hit because of his actions. Legally speaking, he didn’t do time. But he was at the height of his career when the story broke. His movie “I Love You, Daddy,” was basically cancelled just days before its release. He didn’t perform standup or tour or do a special for a year, and he’s one of those rare comics who comes out with a new special every year. He went underground at a time when he had more commercial momentum than every comedian in the world other than Kevin Hart and maybe Dave Chappelle. He was dropped by his agent and his manager. He had to take a time-out from a profession that demands consistency and presence. So make no mistake: he has served a punishment. Whether this punishment was harsh enough or long enough is entirely subjective.

In talking with Cousin Mike and Murray earlier, they suggested that perhaps a portion of Louis’ earnings should go to women’s causes. This is a decent, albeit tricky, idea. It’s tricky because I’m sure that many women’s causes would not want to be seen as “profiting” from his profits, as accepting money from a benefactor so anathema to their ethos. He could potentially do a couple fundraising nights where he donates the entire door to a cause, as opposed to a percentage of his yearly earnings. Call it community service hours that he has to complete as part of his punishment. But if these causes/groups are willing to accept financial gifts from him, that might be a good place to start.

I can’t help but compare his situation to the revelations of Tiger Woods’ infidelity. When we found out that Tiger had been banging everything under the sun while married to Elin Nordegren, the world lost its mind. Obviously there’s a huge difference between masturbating in front of a woman against her will and having a consensual extra-marital affair. But both Tiger and Louis were at the TOP of their professions when their stories broke. Both were immediately cast as deviants, perverts, even monsters. People HATED Tiger in in 2009. It took him almost a decade to get back to contending for major championships. But now, you could argue that he’s once again the most exciting athlete on the planet. That PGA Championship was appointment television and even the most ardent Tiger haters from 2009 were secretly, probably, pulling for him.

I hope the same thing happens with Louis. I hope he comes back stronger than ever. His mastery of joke-telling is both inspiring and depressing because I watch him and know that there is no chance in hell I’ll ever touch his ability. It’s almost like he’s performing a different craft. He doesn’t play by the rules of comedy. He says the N-word on stage and somehow, the entire audience is on board. Obviously, it sucks that he did what he did. But I, for one, am excited to see him back in his element.