Can a Harasser Truly Apologize? Louis C.K. Gives It a Try

Filed in National by on November 10, 2017

The tsunami of stories about men behaving badly is sweeping the worlds of celebrity and politics so fast that nobody who has been accused has been able to come up with a convincing apology for past behavior. So let’s see how Louis C.K.’s mea culpa is received.

“These stories are true,” he wrote in a statement. “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 regret seems sincere, but he’s had a lot of time to practice what he would say once he couldn’t deny it anymore. His entire apology is at the link.

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  1. Tom Kline says:

    Louie votes D. Figures…

  2. Arthur says:

    “I asked first so I thought it was ok”

    yes, women are always excited to see a pasty, balding, overweight, splotchy, red heads dick. just ask them and they will all jump at the opportunity

  3. chris says:

    Its all about career salvaging….its not a youthful indiscretion, its about abuse of power… … Sincerity will be measured through substantive actions and restitution, not statements from publicists. Takes time to truly judge the authenticity of these apologies though.

  4. Beverly c says:

    What Arthur said…

  5. Beverly c says:

    And not to put too fine a point on it, but as apologies go, this was a good one. But it was just words. Good and contrite and not at all self serving but what we need to find out from men who have behaved this way is what they plan to do to help make the world a better and safer place for the women they victimized. Being remorseful is not enough. They damaged these women and they need to fix the damage if possible. It is up to him to figure out how to do that. Men need to learn a lesson from this as well. Power is not license and desire is not entitlement. If you have to ask, the answer is no. If you are wanted, you will be invited. This is where Louis was wrong from the start.

  6. FWIW says:

    This article does a good job of weighing the good parts versus the shortcomings of Louis’ statement:
    https://qz.com/1126593/we-edited-louis-cks-statement-on-sexual-misconduct-to-make-it-a-real-apology/