Marc Maron: Louis CK denied the sexual misconduct rumors to me, and “I believed my friend”

WTF with Marc Maron Podcast

“I knew what most people knew,” Maron said at the beginning of Monday’s WTF podcast episode, in addressing his longtime friend Louis CK's sexual misconduct revelations. Maron said he didn’t know the extent of his friend’s behavior until reading about it in The New York Times last week. Yet Maron said he once did broach the subject with Louis CK, asking about the published rumors, and CK would respond: "No, it's not true. It's not real. it's a rumor," Maron also pressed him on why he didn’t try to put a halt to the rumors. Maron pointed out that he knew one of the accusers, Rebecca Corey, but she never told him about her experience. The problem, he said, is that for women, “there was no place for them to go with these stories. It's f*cking sad.” Maron admitted his guilt and “man brain” with not having empathy for what women have experienced when it comes to harassment. Maron also revealed that he, too, was the victim of sexual harassment in college when a male teacher kissed him on the lips after they went to lunch. “My body went into paralysis,” he said of the experience. “It was almost like a leaving the body kind of moment… I felt bad, and I carried that confusion and shame for a while.” Maron said he won’t apologize for Louis CK’s behavior, but he’s sticking by him as a friend. “I’m disappointed in my friend,” said Maron. “He did some gross sh*t. Some damaging sh*t…He f*cked up, and he’s in big f*cking trouble. So what am I going to do? I’m going to be his friend.”

ALSO:

• Jon Stewart and Robert Smigel issued a statement on their friend Louis CK: “It’s obviously very upsetting, and we hope the victims are finding some solace. We’re thankful that the culture’s finally changing and allowing them to feel safe enough to speak out.”
• Amy Poehler, Aziz Ansari and other comedians are still with Dave Becky, Louis CK’s (now) ex-manager, who is accused of trying to silence CK's victims.
• While Poehler and Ansari sharing a manager with Louis CK isn’t a crime, their silence on his behavior is particularly glaring