Louis C.K.'s Statement Admitting Sexual Harassment Draws Plenty of Anger from Hollywood

Television By TooFab Staff |
Hollywood's History of Sexual Misconduct View Photos

Louis C.K. confirmed allegations of sexual misconduct and expressed remorse in a statement Friday, and while it goes much further than the responses of other accused men, it still fell short for many people in Hollywood.

"I finally see how deeply my actions have affected other people emotionally since they are now affecting me financially," fellow comedian Paul F. Tompkins tweeted, mocking Louis C.K.'s statement. Other celebrities, including Rose McGowan, Busy Philipps and Gabourey Sidibe, also reacted with disgust online.

The stand-up comic and "Louie" producer came clean about long-rumored allegations after the New York Times published an exposé on Thursday in which five different women accused him of masturbating in front of them without their consent since the late 1990s.

"These stories are true," he admitted. "At the time, I said to myself that what I did was okay because I never showed a woman my dick 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 dick 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."

He continued, "I also took advantage of the fact that I was widely admired in my and their community, which disabled them from sharing their story and brought hardship to them when they tried because people who look up to me didn't want to hear it. [...] There is nothing about this that I forgive myself for. And I have to reconcile it with who I am. Which is nothing compared to the task I left them with. I wish I had reacted to their admiration of me by being a good example to them as a man and given them some guidance as a comedian, including because I admired their work."

The statement stood out from other men who have responded to sexual harassment and assault allegations since the Harvey Weinstein scandal, in that he owned up to his behavior, did not accuse the women of lying and acknowledged the power dynamic that allowed his behavior to remain mostly hidden while his career took off. "I have spent my long and lucky career talking and saying anything I want," he said. "I will now step back and take a long time to listen."

However, he never actually said the word "sorry" in his statement and spent much of it talking about his status as a highly-admired figure in comedy. He also released this statement after denying the rumors for years and was criticized for only expressing remorse after the NYT report.

Here are some of the top responses from Hollywood, the comedy community and the media: