A Reminder That Louis C.K. Once Wrote A Date Rape Scene For Louie

Update: In a statement provided to The New York Times on Friday, Louis C.K. confirmed that the allegations against him are true.

"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," C.K. wrote in the statement. "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."

C.K. also said that he was "remorseful" for his actions, ending the statement by writing, "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."

After The New York Times published disturbing allegations against comedian Louis C.K. on Thursday, it wasn't long before some of C.K.'s more controversial jokes began making their way around the internet. C.K. was accused of sexually harassing five women, and the Times report includes women's accounts of C.K. allegedly masturbating in front of them or requesting to masturbate in front of them.

C.K. made one joke about men being "the worst thing that ever happens" to women. At another point, he said that feminists can't take jokes. But there's one scene that's particularly disturbing from C.K.'s FX show Louie, in which C.K.'s character seemingly tries to sexually assault his friend Pamela, played by Better Things star Pamela Adlon. During the scene, C.K.'s character kisses Adlon's character, an advance she doesn't seem to want. At one point in the episode, Adlon's character tells C.K.'s character that he "can't even rape well."

Jill Gutowitz shared a thread of C.K.'s now-uncomfortable jokes and segments, including that Louie scene, in a Twitter thread on Thursday.

Back in 2015, C.K. said at a Television Critics Association panel that the scene was his character "trying to figure out what" was happening between his character and Adlon's.

"Sometimes, you put something out there and it gets a different reaction," C.K. said on the TCA panel. "To me, it was like a tussle... I'm pulling her and she's pulling me away. We even thought it was funny when we tried it."

Still, Adlon said on the same panel that she thought they "might be in trouble" for the scene, though she "didn't feel like it was rape-y." In a separate interview with Vulture in 2014, Adlon said she was "dying laughing" when she first read the episode's script.

"I don't think you can call it rape, it was a kiss on the mouth. [Rape is] a real serious and bad thing," C.K. said at the TCA panel.

At the time, the scene was given a bit of a pass. C.K. was an ally who'd also addressed topics like transgender rights and society's treatment of fat women in his material. But as Vulture's Jen Chaney wrote on Thursday, the Louie episode "now plays like a 21-minute confessional."

Aside from the Louie episode, material from C.K.'s directorial debut, I Love You, Daddy, has become controversial thanks to recent headlines. The movie's premiere was canceled ahead of The New York Times' story; the film apparently has a scene where a male character mimes masturbating while discussing a female character. The movie's release has since been canceled, and Netflix isn't moving forward with its plan to produce a second C.K. standup special. HBO is also removing C.K.'s previous work from its streaming service, USA Today reported.

FX also released a statement Thursday about the Times report. "We are obviously very troubled by the allegations about Louis C.K. published in The New York Times today," the statement reads. "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 Networks and FXP 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."

C.K.'s publicist, Lewis Kay, told the Times that the comedian "is not going to answer any questions" about the allegations. Refinery29 has also reached out to Kay for comment.

If you have experienced sexual violence and are in need of crisis support, please call the RAINN Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

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