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Parkland survivors respond to Louis C.K.
Parkland students and at least one parent of a victim slammed comedian Louis C.K. for cracking jokes about school shooting survivors.
In audio laced with vulgarities that was leaked Sunday from a stand-up comedy routine that reportedly took place Dec. 16, the comedian appeared to mock Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students for their gun control activism instead of being “normal” trouble-making teens.
“They testify in front of Congress, these kids … (expletives) …,” he said, according to the leaked audio. “You’re not interesting because you went to a high school where kids got shot. Why does that mean I have to listen to you? How does that make you interesting? You didn’t get shot, you pushed some fat kid in the way — now I gotta listen to you talking?”
The recording, which surfaced Sunday on YouTube, was said to be from a 48-minute set he performed Dec. 16 at Governor's Comedy Club in Levittown, New York, according to Variety.com.
Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter Jaime Guttenberg was one of the 17 students and faculty members killed Feb. 14 at Stoneman Douglas, didn’t see the humor in Louis C.K.’s jokes and responded on Twitter.
“To anyone who knows Louis CK, please deliver this message for me. My daughter was killed in the Parkland shooting. My son ran from the bullets. My wife and I deal with loss everyday. Why don't you come to my house and try out your new pathetic jokes?” Guttenberg wrote.
Parkland students including Cameron Kasky, a co-founder of the March For Our Lives movement, also reacted on Twitter.
“Comedy is supposed to be offensive. My feelings have no place in it,” Kasky wrote. “Yes, Louis is an ass for the jokes he’s making which sucks cause he used to be really funny and not just a professional jerk.”
Fellow Parkland survivor Aalayah Eastmond, who attended a rally last May at the U.S Capitol to urge Congress to act on gun violence, hit back with a reference to the comedian’s alleged sexual misconduct.
On Twitter, she wrote “Hey Louis CK - since you like making fun of me and other Parkland survivors behind closed doors, I’m right here if you want to talk. Just try to keep it in your pants, ok?”
Louis C.K., who had his own show on the FX network, took a break last year after he was the subject of sexual misconduct allegations.
In a statement last year, he admitted that the allegations were true, that he had repeatedly masturbated in front of women.
In late August, he began his return to the stage. Along with the student activist jokes in the leaked routine, Louis C.K. also took aim at at how younger people use gender neutral pronouns to identify themselves.
“They tell you what to call them. ‘You should address me as they/them because I identify as gender neutral.’ Oh, OK. You should address me there, because I identify as a location...”