Louis C.K. on sexual misconduct allegations: “These stories are true”—UPDATED

[Photo by: FX]

UPDATE: Nov. 10 @ 2:50 p.m. ET: Netflix tweeted that they will not make Louis C.K.'s second stand up special.

Original story:

Louis C.K. responds to sexual misconduct allegations, saying the claims against him are true.

“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. The power I had over these women is that they admired me. And I wielded that power irresponsibly,” Louis C.K. shared, as The Hollywood Reporter reports.

Five women, who have all worked with Louis C.K., spoke to The New York Times about his inappropriate behavior, and in his statement, he apologizes to those impacted by his actions—both personally and professionally. For, following the release of the allegations, HBO severed ties with Louis C.K., and his new movie, I Love You, Daddy, which co-stars Chloë Grace Moretz and Charlie Day, has been shelved ahead of its Nov. 17 release.

Both Moretz and Day spoke out about the claims, with Moretz telling The Los Angeles Times she backed out of press for the movie with the “numerous possible accusations” facing Louis C.K., and Day saying he was “appalled as everyone to read the allegations made in The New York Times. I do not condone sexual misconduct and, in light of the allegations, will not be promoting the movie further.”

The film's distributor, Orchard, spoke out as well. “There is never a place for the behavior detailed in these allegations. As a result, we are giving careful consideration to the timing and release of the film and continuing to review the situation.”

Plus, FX has also spoken out, saying they are “very trouble by the allegations” and are “conducting an unspecified review in light of the accusations.”

“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 [FX Productions] 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.”

Read Louis C.K.'s statement in full below (via The Hollywood Reporter):

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.

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. The power I had over these women is that they admired me. And I wielded that power irresponsibly.

I have been remorseful of my actions. And I've tried to learn from them. And run from them. Now I’m aware of the extent of the impact of my actions. 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.

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.

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.

I wish I had reacted to their admiration of me by being a good example to them as a man and given them some guidance as a comedian, including because I admired their work.

The hardest regret to live with is what you've done to hurt someone else. And I can hardly wrap my head around the scope of hurt I brought on them. I’d be remiss to exclude the hurt that I’ve brought on people who I work with and have worked with who’s professional and personal lives have been impacted by all of this, including projects currently in production: the cast and crew of Better Things, Baskets, The Cops, One Mississippi, and I Love You Daddy. I deeply regret that this has brought negative attention to my manager Dave Becky who only tried to mediate a situation that I caused. I’ve brought anguish and hardship to the people at FX who have given me so much The Orchard who took a chance on my movie. and every other entity that has bet on me through the years.

I’ve brought pain to my family, my friends, my children and their mother.

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.  

Thank you for reading.