Louis CK fallout: Are there a disproportionate number of awful people among male comedians?

GQ

The comedy community, says Drew Magary, is “very insular and VERY protective. If you go by the list of greatest comedians of all time, it’s a community that has harbored a great number—perhaps a disproportionate number—of misogynists, abusers and sh*tbags.” If you closely examine FX’s Louie, he says, you’ll notice “grotesque warning signs” of the awfulness of Louis CK. “These are not sad clowns,” says Magary. “These are all very famous, very powerful men who in hindsight, appear to have used comedy to mask the truth more than illuminate it. In fact, it’s telling that (Louis CK) fell upon the ‘I have issues’ defense when one woman said she confronted him about jacking off in front of women. When confronted, comedians have a nasty habit of defensiveness, and of playing up the background issues that drive them to crave yuks. And, for too long, the comedy world has indulged that ruse, letting a guy like CK invite your pity if he can’t get laughs out of you.” As Magary notes, Louis CK made himself “strategically vulnerable” — establishing a reputation for being “painfully honest” while actually deploying his “harsh truths” as a way of laundering and “masking his truly unforgivable behavior.” “You can even see how CK launders the truth in the public apology he issued on Friday,” says Magary. “At first blush, it reads like a self-aware and honest confession, until you realize that A) He never once mentions about how he lied about the allegations for years, B) He never actually says sorry, and C) You don’t get to plead ignorance about penile etiquette when you’re a 50-year-old man.”