„At the time, I said to myself that what I did was okay,“ C. K. said in the statement.
Stand-up superstar Louis C. K. came clean Friday about his obscene behavior, admitting in a lengthy apology that he masturbated in front of five women.
The Emmy-winning star of the acclaimed “Louie” television show said the New York Times‘ detailed expose about his creepy sexual antics left him reeling.
“These stories are true,” the comedian’s statement began. “At the time, I said to myself that what I did was okay because I never showed a woman my d— without asking first.
“But what I learned later in life, too late, is that when you have power over another person, asking them to look at your d— isn’t a question. It’s a predicament for them.”
Louis C. K.’s ‘I Love You Daddy’ won’t be released
The quintet of female actresses and comedians shared their stories of C. K.’s crude behavior between the early 1990s and 2005.
“There is nothing about this that I forgive myself for,” the mea culpa continued. “And I had to reconcile it with who I am. Which is nothing compared to the task I left them with.”
C. K. acknowledged using the women’s admiration for his work to turn them into unwitting victims of his strange sexual behavior. And he said the woman remained silent because of his lofty position in the comedy world.
“The hardest regret to live with is what you’ve done to hurt someone else,” he wrote in the nine-paragraph statement. “And I can hardly wrap my head around the scope of hurt I brought on them.”
Once the story broke Thursday, C. K. was forced to cancel the premiere of his new movie “I Love You, Daddy” and scrub a planned appearance on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” On Friday, the film’s distributor yanked its release .
In addition to apologizing to the women, the 438-word statement had C. K. saying he was sorry to his family, his friends, his children and their mother.
“I deeply regret that this has brought negative attention to manager Dave Becky who only tried to mediate a situation that I caused,” he added.
The comedian indicated the statement might be the last time anyone hears from him publicly for a while.
“I have spent my long and lucky career talking and saying anything I want,” he concluded. “I will now step back and take a long time to listen.”
