Brace yourself, because Louis C.K. may be coming to a city near you. The disgraced comedian announced this week that he’ll be embarking upon a 24-city comeback tour, which kicks off in New York at Madison Square Garden on August 13th and August 14th, and concludes at the Orpheum Theater in Boston on December 11th.
C.K.’s career was derailed in 2017 at the onset of the #MeToo movement, after multiple women accused the veteran comic of sexual misconduct, alleging that he had masturbated—or had asked to do so—in front of them. Several of the accusers were aspiring comedians themselves. C.K. ultimately admitted to the misconduct, saying, “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.”
Following these revelations, C.K. was dropped by his management team at 3 Arts Entertainment, his APA agency, and publicist Lewis Kay. His Emmy-winning FX series, Louie, was also cancelled, as networks and streamers like FX, HBO, Netflix, distanced themselves from the comedian.
C.K. briefly retreated from public life before returning to standup in 2018, drawing intense criticism for jokes that targeted the victims of mass school shootings. “You’re not interesting because you went to a high school where kids got shot,” C.K. said during a gig in Long Island. More recently, C.K.—who claims he lost $35 million in an hour due to the allegations—has used his performances to downplay his own situation. In his 2020 comedy special “Sincerely, Louis C.K.,” C.K. joked about his misconduct: “How was your last couple of years? How was 2018 and 2019 for you guys? Anybody else get in global amounts of trouble?” he asks his audience. “I learned a lot. I learned how to eat alone in a restaurant with people giving me the finger from across the room.”
