Louis C.K. sexually harassed several women years ago by masturbating in front of them against their will, according to a report by the New York Times published Thursday afternoon.
Five female comedians went on record in the report, published Thursday, and detailed multiple instances of alleged sexual misconduct by the award-winning comedian and actor.
Shortly before the report broke, Louis C.K.’s New York film premiere for “I Love You, Daddy,” was abruptly canceled, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Louis C.K.’s planned appearance on CBS’ “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” was also canceled.
One of the instances of misconduct allegedly happened at a Colorado comedy festival in 2002, according to comedian Dana Min Goodman, when Louis C.K. asked her and another female comedian, Julia Wolov, if he could take his penis out during a visit to his Aspen hotel room. The women initially laughed it off.
“And he really did it,” Goodman said in the Times story. “He proceeded to take all of his clothes off, and get completely naked, and started masturbating.”
Another woman, Abby Schachner, said she had an experience in 2003 in which she could hear Louis C.K. masturbating while on the phone with her. Comedian Rebecca Corry also told the Times that Louis C.K. asked if he could masturbate in front of her in 2005, when the pair were working together on a television pilot. Corry declined, reminding the comedian that he had a daughter and pregnant wife at home.
A fifth woman, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Louis C.K. repeatedly asked that she watch him masturbate while she was worked behind-the-scenes on “The Chris Rock Show” in the late 1990s. She said she went along with his request.
It’s not the first time the subject of Louis C.K. masturbating in front of women has been brought up — rumors about him being sexually inappropriate with colleagues have swirled for years — but it is the first time women have gone on record about the misconduct.
In a request for an interview Tuesday, Louis C.K.’s publicist told the Times, “Louis is not going to answer any questions.”
