Louis C.K. Admits to Sexual Misconduct

Louis C.K.’s full statement

(CNN) – Warning: This article contains language some may consider offensive.

On Friday, comedian Louis C.K. issued a statement in response to sexual misconduct allegations. Below is his statement in full.

“I want to address the stories told to the New York Times by five women named Abby, Rebecca, Dana, Julia who felt able to name themselves and one who did not.

These stories are true. At the time, I said to myself that what I did was okay because I never showed a woman my dick without asking first, which is also true. But what I learned later in life, too late, is that when you have power over another person, asking them to look at your dick isn’t a question. It’s a predicament for them. The power I had over these women is that they admired me. And I wielded that power irresponsibly.

I have been remorseful of my actions. And I’ve tried to learn from them. And run from them. Now I’m aware of the extent of the impact of my actions. I learned yesterday the extent to which I left these women who admired me feeling badly about themselves and cautious around other men who would never have put them in that position.

I also took advantage of the fact that I was widely admired in my and their community, which disabled them from sharing their story and brought hardship to them when they tried because people who look up to me didn’t want to hear it. I didn’t think that I was doing any of that because my position allowed me not to think about it.

There is nothing about this that I forgive myself for. And I have to reconcile it with who I am. Which is nothing compared to the task I left them with.

I wish I had reacted to their admiration of me by being a good example to them as a man and given them some guidance as a comedian, including because I admired their work.

The hardest regret to live with is what you’ve done to hurt someone else. And I can hardly wrap my head around the scope of hurt I brought on them. I’d be remiss to exclude the hurt that I’ve brought on people who I work with and have worked with who’s [sic] professional and personal lives have been impacted by all of this, including projects currently in production: the cast and crew of ‘Better Things,’ ‘Baskets,’ ‘The Cops,’ ‘One Mississippi,’ and ‘I Love You Daddy.’ I deeply regret that this has brought negative attention to my manager Dave Becky who only tried to mediate a situation that I caused. I’ve brought anguish and hardship to the people at FX who have given me so much The Orchard who took a chance on my movie and every other entity that has bet on me through the years.

I’ve brought pain to my family, my friends, my children and their mother. I have spent my long and lucky career talking and saying anything I want. I will now step back and take a long time to listen.

Thank you for reading.”

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The upcoming release of “I Love You, Daddy,” a new movie written and directed by and starring Louis C.K., has been scrapped in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations published by The New York Times on Thursday.

The move was announced on Friday by The Orchard, the movie’s distributor.

“The Orchard will not be moving forward with the release of ‘I Love You, Daddy,’” it said in a statement.

The movie’s Thursday premiere was canceled at the last minute, shortly before the New York Times published its story in the afternoon. The Times report includes allegations from five women who said Louis C.K. acted inappropriately toward them, including masturbating in front of them.

Louis C.K. issued an apology and admitted that the allegations are true. He also apologized to The Orchard and to the film’s cast and crew.

“I’ve brought pain to my family, my friends, my children and their mother,” C.K. wrote. “I have spent my long and lucky career talking and saying anything I want. I will now step back and take a long time to listen.”

The fallout from the allegations have been swift. HBO announced on Thursday night that Louis C.K. will not be appearing in the upcoming “Night of Too Many Stars: America Unites for Autism Programs.”

FX said in a statement that they are “very troubled” by the allegations against the comedian. Louis C.K. is the executive producer on several shows for the network, including “Better Things,” “Baskets” and “Louie.”

“The network has received no allegations of misconduct by Louis C.K. related to any of our 5 shows produced together over the past 8 years,” FX said in a statement. “FX Networks and [FX Productions] take all necessary actions to protect our employees and thoroughly investigate any allegations of misconduct within our workplace. That said, the matter is currently under review.”

The Orchard snagged the rights to “I Love You, Daddy” for $5 million in September at the Toronto International Film Festival, according to an exclusive report by The Hollywood Reporter. The movie was schedule to be released on November 17.

Additionally, Netflix announced Friday it would no longer move forward with plans for another stand up special with the comedian.

“The allegations made by several women in today’s New York Times about Louis C.K.’s behavior are disturbing,” a Netflix spokesperson said in a statement to CNN. “Louis’s unprofessional and inappropriate behavior with female colleagues has led us to decide not to produce a second stand up special, as had been planned.”