Refreshing Admission from Louis C. K.: ‘These Stories Are True’

The comedian released a lengthy statement after five women claimed he sexually harassed them in a New York Times exposé.

Louis C.K. has spoken out about the sexual misconduct allegations leveled against him. In a statement released on Friday, the comedian and TV star said, “These stories are true.”

He continued, “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. The power I had over these women is that they admired me. And I wielded that power irresponsibly.”

In a lengthy response to Thursday’s New York Times exposé, sent to The Hollywood Reporter, C.K. addressed the five women who spoke out, admitting that he has tried to learn from his actions but has also run from them.

“I learned yesterday the extent to which I left these women who admired me feeling badly about themselves and cautious around other men who would never have put them in that position,” he said in part. “I also took advantage of the fact that I was widely admired in my and their community, which disabled them from sharing their story and brought hardship to them when they tried because people who look up to me didn’t want to hear it. I didn’t think that I was doing any of that because my position allowed me not to think about it.”

Saying, “There is nothing about this that I forgive myself for. And I have to reconcile it with who I am. Which is nothing compared to the task I left them with.”

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