Is Louis C.K. Really a Disgusting Perv? Jen Kirkman Clarifies Her Comments

The comedian talks about the male comic who made creepy advances.

August 17, 2015

Not Available Lead — Image via Complex Original
Complex Original

Whereas Bill Cosby is a known monster, fellow male comedian Louis C.K. has more or less been a subject of the "Is he a trash man?" speculation for years. There was a story a few years ago about a certain male comedian cornering a female comedian duo in a hotel room and making them watch him jerk off. Though no one was named, the rumor is that Louis C.K. was the male comedian and Garfunkel and Oates the duo.

But then a few months ago the "Is Louis C.K. a pervert?" question came up again when comedian Jen Kirkman recorded a podcast on her show I Seem Fun about an unnamed pervy male comic. On an episode from April 20 (which was then swiftly deleted), Kirkman talked about a "Cosby level" comedian who made creepy advances towards her. She couldn't say much more than that, explaining that outing him would be a career-killer.

The assumption was that this comic in question was Louis C.K., who fits the description better than anyone else. After months of non-elaboration on the topic, Kirkman appeared on Chris Hardwick's podcast The Nerdist on Friday to (sort of) clarify those comments. "It's kind of obvious who I was talking about," she says—which means it was (duh) Louis. She says that he didn't physically violate her but that his words made her feel awfully uncomfortable. She also says she was more annoyed at the situation than scared for her safety; she knew he wouldn't rape her, but she did not want to go on tour with him. Apparently he later acknowledged his creepiness. (Was there remorse though? Will he stop being so goddamn creepy?) Here's an excerpt below:

So while Louis C.K. is not "Cosby level" in terms of harassment, I think it's fair to say he is a traaaaash man. Ugh. It's terrifying being a woman in ANY industry, and comedy continues to be a gross, male-aggressive zone.

Listen to Kirkman on The Nerdist here (the clarification comes around the 54-minute mark).