Louis C.K.’s comeback tour sells out 3 shows
Louis C.K. didn’t spend too long in exile.
The comedian stepped away from the stage for nine months after accusations of sexual misconduct by five women came to light in November 2017. He admitted to them and was back doing stand-up in August 2018. Now, he’s on a low-key comeback tour that brings him to the Pittsburgh Improv at the Waterfront in Homestead this weekend.
The Improv shows — one on Thursday and two on Friday — were announced via email to Improv subscribers on Monday and were sold out by Tuesday morning. That’s not surprising given that the last time he performed here, in October 2016, he filled the Petersen Events Center in Oakland.
The 51-year-old comic, a Peabody, Emmy and Grammy award winner, began as a writer for David Letterman, Conan O’Brien and others in the ’90s and released his first comedy album in 2001. His success as a stand-up comedian who didn’t shy away from the touchiest subjects led to him starring in his own FX series, “Louie,” from 2010 to 2015. The semiautobiographical comedy-drama was canceled after the 2017 scandal and his film, “I Love You, Daddy,” was pulled from distribution.
Nonetheless, C.K. returned to the public eye with an unannounced show at New York’s Comedy Cellar in August 2018, and since then he’s stirred up more controversy. During a show in December, he made headlines after a fan posted audio of him joking about the survivors of the Parkland, Fla., school shooting.
“Testify in front of Congress, these kids, what the [f---]? What are you doing?” he said. “Cause you went to a high school where kids got shot, why does that mean I have to listen to you? Why does that make you interesting? You didn’t get shot. You pushed some fat kid
in the way, and now I gotta listen to you talking?”
He also was in the news in late December for a 2011 “Talking Funny” video clip that resurfaced featuring him, Chris Rock and Ricky Gervais using the N-word.
Last week, during a show in San Jose, Calif., he joked about his own sexual misconduct, according to The Daily Beast.
“I like to [masturbate],” he said on stage, “and I don’t like being alone.”
A fan at the show told The Huffington Post that he joked that “the way for people to forget about you masturbating in front of people is to make fun of school shootings.”
His schedule this week also includes a show Wednesday at the Improv in Raleigh, N.C.
The Improv website notes, “Louis CK is trying new material. XXX Adults only.”
When asked for comment, the LA-based Improv Comedy Clubs offered a statement: “We see comedy as the final frontier and we don’t censor artists. We trust that our audiences can decide for themselves what their limits are. We understand that not everyone will agree with our decision and we respect their right to protest. We also respect Louis C.K.’s right to perform.”
The C.K. performance is part of a run of scandalized comedians performing at the Pittsburgh Improv. Performing there last week was T.J. Miller, who left the show “Silicon Valley” after accusations of unprofessional behavior and was arrested last year for making a fake bomb threat on an Amtrak train, and “Entourage” star Jeremy Piven, who was accused of sexual misconduct in 2017, is on the schedule for March 22-23.