Louis CK has returned to the stand-up comedy circuit, after allegations of sexual misconduct all-but derailed his career, but the disgraced comedian is catching heat this week thanks to leaked audio of him making fun of school shooting survivors.
In a stand-up set that was recorded at the Governor’s Comedy Club in Long Island on December 16 of this year, CK mocked the younger generation for being woke and caring about gender pronouns, before seemingly taking a crack at the youngsters who fronted up to politicians after the Parkland massacre. He said:
“They testify in front of Congress, these kids? What are they doing? You’re young, you should be crazy, you should be unhinged, not in a suit … you’re not interesting. Because you went to a high school where kids got shot? Why does that mean I have to listen to you? … You didn’t get shot, you pushed some fat kid in the way, and now I’ve gotta listen to you talking?”
The audience in the club can be heard laughing and cheering, although the bit has predictably not gone down as well on Twitter, with many accusing him of pandering to the right and turning into the kind of hacky comic he used to mock:
telling moment in the bootleg Louis CK set is when, after a particularly crude bit, he jokingly tells the crowd, “What are you – going to take away my birthday? My life is over. I don’t give a shit.” audience laughs.
— Dave Itzkoff (@ditzkoff) December 31, 2018
https://twitter.com/jackallisonLOL/status/1079538170960572416
Louis CK, 2017: “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”
Louis CK, 2018: pic.twitter.com/2qN1RrbgPH— Mike Pearl (@MikeLeePearl) December 31, 2018
https://twitter.com/ira/status/1079616833303371776
https://twitter.com/Wallzers/status/1079573489508667397
So Louis CK is turning into a right wing clown now? The guy who liked to masturbate in front of female comics? Imagine, if you will, my overwhelming surprise.
— Charles Johnson, bona fide (@Green_Footballs) December 31, 2018
https://twitter.com/sadydoyle/status/1079570277728690176
Sad montage of Louis CK jacking off in front of smaller and smaller audiences
— pixelatedboat aka “mr tweets” (@pixelatedboat) December 31, 2018
https://twitter.com/noyokono/status/1079564846671237122
One of the few dissenting voices was Emma Vigeland from Young Turks, who made the entirely fair points that this bit would never have made headlines before Louis CK was disgraced by his sex scandal, and that it’s more or less in line with the type of comedy he has always done.
“Leave outrage over comedy to the right wing,” she wrote.
This Louis CK bit would have never made headlines before his scandal. This is in line with the same stuff he did before.
Move along, people. Leave outrage over comedy to the right wing.
— Emma Vigeland (@EmmaVigeland) December 31, 2018
I mean, back when he was the darling of HBO and Louie was on the air, one of his most widely-circulated bits revolved around the word ‘faggot’ and it barely raised an eyebrow, so I guess the point of all this is that Louis CK’s grumpy old white dude schtick has’t really changed, but our attitude towards him has.