Five women have accused comedian Louis C.K. of sexual misconduct in a New York Times report published on Thursday. The allegations against C.K. include masturbating in front of women, asking women to watch him masturbate, and masturbating while on the phone with one woman. C.K.’s publicist, Lewis Kay, told the Times that the comedian would not respond to the on-the-record allegations.
Two of C.K.’s accusers are the comedy duo Dana Min Goodman and Julia Wolov, who say that at the 2002 Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, C.K. invited them to his hotel room, took off his clothes, and masturbated in front of them. Goodman and Wolov also alleged that C.K.’s manager, Dave Becky, seemed unhappy when they spoke openly about the alleged incident afterward and that the pair have avoided working on projects that Becky is involved in as a result.
Abby Schachner told the Times that in 2003, she called Louis C.K. to invite him to a show and that he began describing his sexual fantasies instead. Schachner alleges that she could hear him masturbating while they spoke over the phone.
Rebecca Corry accused C.K. of inviting her back to his dressing room so that he could masturbate in front of her while working on a television pilot in 2005. Courteney Cox and David Arquette, the show’s executive producers, confirmed to the Times that they were aware of the incident. “What happened to Rebecca on that set was awful,” Cox reportedly wrote in an email.
Another woman, speaking on the condition of anonymity, alleged that C.K. also “repeatedly” asked her to watch him masturbate while working at The Chris Rock Show in the late 1990s:
“It was something that I knew was wrong,” said the woman, who described sitting in Louis C.K.’s office while he masturbated in his desk chair during a workday, other colleagues just outside the door. “I think the big piece of why I said yes was because of the culture,” she continued. “He abused his power.” A co-worker at The Chris Rock Show, who also wished to remain anonymous, confirmed that the woman told him about the experience soon after it happened.
According to the Times, C.K. sent Schachner a Facebook message six years after the alleged incident, in 2009, apologizing for how their conversation had “ended in a sordid fashion.” In 2015, Corry alleges she also received an apology “for shoving her in a bathroom.” When she corrected him, Corry says, he acknowledged that he had asked to masturbate in front of her.
Rumors of C.K.’s alleged misconduct have been around for years; Gawker ran a blind item on the alleged Aspen incident in 2012. The Times’ report follows a sudden cancellation of the premiere of C.K.’s new movie, I Love You, Daddy, which was supposed to take place on Thursday night. C.K.’s scheduled appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert was also canceled.
