After spending years in exile after being exposed as a serial sexual predator, comedian Louis C.K. returned to American television screens with a Friday night appearance on Real Time with Bill Maher.
Maher gave C.K., who is promoting his forthcoming novel, an incredibly friendly reception, as did his audience, who gave the canceled comedian a standing ovation as he walked onto the set.
“I think I’ll let that standing ovation speak for itself,” Maher quipped. Maher has previously vocally defended C.K., asking Kara Swisher in an episode of her podcast last year while likening C.K.’s plight to that of Woody Allen, “Do we have to punish him for the whole rest of his life?”
The pair talked about C.K.’s novel, Ingram, which will be released next month. Discussing the novel, Maher mentions that the eponymous character Ingram discovers masturbation, and “kind of pays a high price for that.”
“Where do you get your ideas?” Maher asked, as C.K. and the audience laughed uproariously.
“Like you said, write what you know,” C.K. replied.
In 2017, the comedian was accused by five different women of masturbating in front of them without their consent, becoming one of the most famous faces of the #MeToo movement.
In a statement at the time, C.K. confirmed that the allegations were true. “These stories are true. 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,” he said.
Continuing to perform standup shows in the years since, and even winning a Grammy Award in 2022 for Best Comedy Album, C.K. has largely avoided the spotlight until this month, when he made headlines for being one of the comedians scheduled to perform at the controversial Riyadh Comedy Festival in Saudi Arabia.
Discussing the festival on Friday night, Maher argued that the comedians who appeared at the festival were brave.
C.K. explained that he agreed to appear at the festival because he felt that “comedy is a great way to get in and start talking.”
“I love standup comedy and I love comedians, so the fact that that’s opening up and starting to bud, I want to see it, I want to be part of it.”
While otherwise remaining positive about the festival despite substantial backlash, C.K. expressed skepticism at fellow festival performer Dave Chappelle’s claim that comedians can “speak more freely” in Saudi Arabia than in the U.S.
“I don’t know if that’s true,” C.K. said with a laugh.
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