For Louis C.K., it’s #MeToo soon
Pop-up performance in Saugus panned by fellow comedians
Newton native Louis C.K. staged a surprise set at Giggles Comedy Club in Saugus this weekend — and a share of female comedians are none too thrilled that the disgraced star was welcomed on a local stage.
“I can’t believe that they just threw that on an audience,” Stephanie Peters told the Track. “It would be one thing if he was scheduled and people knew they were going to see him. But to have women in an audience who could have been creeped out and to just throw him out there, it’s appalling.”
“It was an abuse of power to just put him on without letting people know that he was going to be there,” she added. Giggles’ owner Mike
Clarke told us that C.K. asked if he could perform while he was in town visiting family. Despite the five women who accused the celeb of sexual misconduct ina New York Times exposé last year, Clarke said he agreed, adding that he didn’t promote the appearance because it was short notice, but he said he did get the green light from other comedians performing that evening.
“Did he make some mistakes in his life? Sure. But he’s trying to get his life back together,” Clarke said of C.K., while also stating he feels for the women who came forward with their stories last November. “He seemed contrite and sorry. I just believe in giving someone a second chance.”
And of all the places to give C.K. a second chance, comedian Lauren Verge isn’t surprised it would be the Boston area, as many of the bookers know him from when he was cutting his comedic teeth in our city.
“They’re much more willing to give him a chance,” she said. “Boston is old school. It’s a boys club. But the crowd will ultimately decide if he still has a career.”
“I believe that Mike Clarke did his buddy a favor, I understand why he did it, but I wish he didn’t,” she added.
Meanwhile, Rhode Island comedian Coleen Galvin deemed Clarke’s decision to let C.K. perform “a slap in the face.” After the Times article, he issued an apology and admitted “these stories are true,” but she think he’s yet to earn a second chance.
“I just see words and that’s not enough,” Galvin said. “People who go to prison, they get a second chance. But they serve a sentence. There were no consequences here.”
Of course, C.K. has been reclusive since his star spiraled from the sky, with many of his projects getting the ax as part of the controversial fallout: His
FX show “Louie” was canceled after a five-season run; his movie “I Love You Daddy” was dropped by distributors and never released; a planned comedy special for Netflix was scrapped; and he’s bowed out of the comedy circuit, save for a couple of ill-received sets at New York’s Comedy Cellar.
“People are so quick to condemn someone nowadays,” Clarke said. “He was never arrested or convicted of any crimes. I’m not saying that what he did was right, but I’m not going to deprive him of a career. I’m not the judge or the jury — I’m just his friend.”
While C.K.’s performance in general didn’t sit well with the local comedy queens, a couple of them took particular issue with the fact that he had a
closer — namely, Christine Hurley. “I never would have followed him,” Peters said. Galvin echoed that sentiment, saying, “I would have walked out. I don’t need to be in an environment where this was allowed to go on. If it meant I had to work in Walmart instead of comedy, I would be the funniest Walmart worker there was.”
“I would have walked out because it’s not just about comedy,” she continued. “It’s about life and it happens every single day.”
But Hurley did not walk out in protest. Instead, the comedian did her gig, as promised.
“First of all, Mike Clarke is my boss,” Hurley told us. “He has made my career completely successful. What he says goes. He’d never put me in a position to jeopardize me. Louis is his friend. What (C.K.) did was despicable, but he knows that.” “This is my job,” she continued. “It’s not like I went to court for the guy. I just went on stage after him. I don’t condone the guy. It’s just business. Just because I’m not ‘strong enough to walk out,’ doesn’t mean I don’t care.”