Photo: Kevin Mazur Photography/2016 Getty Images On Wednesday night, Louis C.K. took to the stage in San Jose, the latest stop on his comeback tour. It’s now been a little over a year since the comedian was accused of sexual misconduct — something he addressed as soon as the set began, by making a joke about it. According to the Daily Beast, C.K. opened his set by telling the audience, “I like to jerk off, and I don’t like being alone.” This seems to have been the first time he’s used his time onstage to directly acknowledge the fact that he masturbated in front of several unwilling women. In a series of sets over the past few months, he’s only vaguely alluded to his behavior, with jokes about having had a “weird year” and about black people standing by him after he “[got] in trouble.” After at least five different women came forward in November 2017 with claims that C.K. had engaged in a pattern of misconduct for decades, he publicly admitted that the allegations were true. In a lengthy, contrite statement published by the New York Times, he wrote, “I have been remorseful of my actions. And I’ve tried to learn from them.” He added, “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.” During the San Jose set, the Daily Beast reports, C.K. spent the first half of the night joking about his own behavior, as well as backlash to a recent set in which he’d complained about nonbinary pronouns and mocked teenage Parkland school shooting survivors. “If you ever need people to forget that you jerked off, what you do is you make a joke about kids that got shot,” he said, referring to the Parkland jokes. The Daily Beast reports that those infamous Parkland jokes were dropped from Wednesday night’s set, though C.K. did repeat some of his previously heard new material, like a bit on the word “retarded,” and some tired bits about black men having large penises, and Asian men having small ones “because they’re all women.” And while he reportedly walked out to a standing ovation, the energy apparently “started to go downhill” when he told a 9/11 joke. “He came out with both fists swinging,” an audience member told the Daily Beast. So much for taking a step back to listen. Stay in touch. Get the Cut newsletter delivered daily Email This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Terms & Privacy Notice By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice and to receive email correspondence from us.<doc-sep>As more than two dozen protesters rallied outside Louis C.K.’s performance at a San Jose comedy club Wednesday night, the embattled comedian wasted no time inside addressing the sexual misconduct scandal that crashed his once high-flying career in comedy, TV and film, according to audience members. After receiving a standing ovation, C.K. opened his set by saying, “I like to jerk off, and I don’t like being alone,” according to Daily Beast writer Stacey Solie, who attended the sold-out show at the San Jose Improv. The masturbation joke refers to C.K. being accused in a November 2017 New York Times report of forcing female colleagues to watch him masturbate. C.K. offered “no trace of an apology” with his joke about his sexual misconduct, according to Solie. The joke still managed to get “a good laugh,” Solie added. Another person attending the show also said that C.K. addressed the controversy at the start of the show, then noted on Twitter, “It was a really great time.” I went and saw Louis ck tonight at the improv and it was fun. Louis was really funny. He addressed the controversy at the beginning. He got a standing ovation at the beginning and the end. There were protesters outside but it was all peaceful. It was a really great time. — Virgilio (@VirgilioBenG) January 17, 2019 But Solie offered a somewhat different take, saying that “the first half of the show garnered a lot of laughter,” including when C.K. addressed his missteps. But “the energy started to go downhill” about halfway through — after C.K. made a joke about 9/11, she said. C.K.’s missteps involved sexual harassment claims made by five women in the New York Times report. After admitting the women’s claims were true, the 51-year-old comedian, actor and director lost his production deal with FX Networks, and his film, “I Love You, Daddy” was shelved. He kept a low profile until this past fall when he began to mount a comeback by performing in comedy clubs such as the San Jose Improv. C.K. is scheduled to perform again Thursday night. That show also is sold out. Solie said one way C.K. addressed his missteps was with this joke: “If you ever need people to forget that you jerked off, what you do is you make a joke about kids that got shot.” The joke was a reference to his attempt to mine humor at a show last month by mocking teen survivors of the February 2018 shooting in Parkland, Fla. “They testify in front of Congress, these kids,” the Emmy winner had joked at the Governor’s Comedy Club in Levittown, N.Y., on Dec. 16, according to reports. “You’re not interesting because you went to a high school where kids were shot,” he added. “Why does that mean I have to listen to you?” It was jokes like that, as well as his admission of sexual harassment, that prompted about two dozen protesters to gather in the pouring rain Wednesday outside the San Jose Improv. The rally was attended by organizers of the San Jose Women’s March and the Enough is Enough Voter Project, a national political action committee aimed at targeting politicians who condone violence against woman. The groups denounced the Improv for booking the comedian. “We are here because Louis C.K. is an admitted serial sexual harasser. He caused tremendous damage to the careers of young women comedians who were very brave and came forward against him,” said Michele Dauber, founder and chairwoman of Enough is Enough. “We do not think it’s appropriate to welcome him back as a celebrity as if he has not caused all of this harm,” she added. “He does not appear to really be accountable or be sorry for what he’s done.” Solie wrote that C.K. demonstrated none of the “charming self-deprecation” or empathy he once successfully used to leaven some of his more abrasive and edgy humor. Solie added that there “were a lot of tired jokes,” including one that relied on racial stereotypes and references to men’s penis sizes. C.K. also made jokes about “retarded” kids and “dead babies.” As for the 9/11 riff that deflated a lot of energy in the room, Solie said it was one she had heard C.K. make before. It had to do with C.K. getting off a plane because a woman and her husband were offering him different takes about wanting him to move so they could sit together. “So I just got off the plane,” C.K. said. “And then the plane took off. And it hit the World Trade Center.” That joke generated both laughter as well as “a lot of groans,” Solie said. The Improv defended its decision to book C.K. by saying in a statement that it doesn’t “censor artists.” “We want them to perform without scrutiny,” according to the statement. “We trust that our audiences can decide for themselves what their limits are. We understand that not everyone will agree with our decision and we respect their right to protest. We also respect Louis C.K.’s right to perform.” Before entering the venue, ticket holders declined to be interviewed when approached by a reporter, but one man who asked to remain anonymous said, “I like to separate the art from the artist.” The rally was peaceful, but two men who stood across the street and shouted their support for the protest got into a fight with a third man who appeared to be at the Improv for C.K.’s performance. Police were called to the scene, but there were no arrests or citations in connection with the melee, which left one man with a bloodied face.<doc-sep>Louis C.K. Photo: Kevin Mazur Photography/2016 Getty Images Since August, Louis C.K.’s return to stand-up has been mostly limited to venues in New York like the Comedy Cellar and Governor’s in Long Island. Now he has officially delivered his first West Coast performance thanks to the Improv in San Jose, which booked C.K. for three sold-out shows this week, including one last night and two this evening. According to the Daily Beast, C.K.’s set last night brought back some jokes from his leaked December performance, including a joke about black and Asian men’s penis sizes with the punch line “All Asians are women.” There was also some new material referencing his own sexual misconduct, including the line, “I like to jerk off, and I don’t like being alone.” “You’ve read the worst possible things you could read about a person, about me, and you’re here … The whole point of comedy is to say things that you shouldn’t say. That’s the entire point,” C.K. also said during the set, which reportedly drew about 30 protesters outside the venue. C.K. further referenced his sexual misconduct with a joke about how comedy is like porn: “Then he made a joke about a porn star’s asshole,” the Daily Beast notes, “and concluded that the world needs porn because it somehow keeps men from molesting their colleagues at work.” C.K. used his sexual misconduct as a punch line again in a joke that explained why his leaked December bit about the Parkland shooting survivors was cut from the San Jose set, telling the crowd, “If you ever need people to forget that you jerked off, what you do is you make a joke about kids that got shot.” The set also included less well-received jokes about 9/11 and a riff on “retarded” kids. Despite C.K.’s apparent dependence on shock-value jokes, the Daily Beast reporter notes that after speaking with some audience members who received his set less warmly, “They weren’t offended, they just didn’t think it was funny.” The San Jose Improv is the first West Coast comedy club to publicly announce multiple C.K. stand-up performances. It remains to be seen what other venues will welcome C.K. onto their stages, but the issue remains highly divisive among comedy bookers, producers, and comedians around the country. “Some people have called comedy clubs the last bastion of free speech in America. I believe that and feel a duty to protect that concept. With that in mind, I’m very reluctant to disallow an individual stage time because of their views or personal life,” Bob Fisher, owner of the Ice House in Pasadena, told us earlier this month. “If Louie C.K. were to ask for time onstage, I would allow it as long as I could advertise his appearance in advance. I’d want those in the audience that night to know he was going to appear.” Los Angeles–based comedian and show host-organizer Mike Mulloy, however, offered a very different response: “He doesn’t need to do stand-up to make a living. He’s a fucking millionaire. He should have to sit out twice as many years as he lied about it. He should have to sit out twice as long as the women whose careers he’s directly impacted. Any comic who disagrees can kiss my ass.”<doc-sep>Protestors gathered in response to Louis C.K.’s arrival at the San Jose Improv on Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2019, and a man was punched in the face, as the controversial comedian began his first West Coast appearances since his career was derailed in the wake of sexual misconduct claims. The club’s parent company released a statement saying they respect the protestors right to assemble, but also “respect Louis C.K.’s right to perform.” Reports from inside the club suggest the comedian hasn’t changed his approach. At one point he reportedly referenced his action that caused the most outrage; masturbating in front of women. About 30 protesters, many from the San Jose-based Enough is Enough Voter Project, clustered on the rainy sidewalk in front of the comedy club, chanting “Shame!” and “San Jose, not Man Jose” as ticket-holders walked into the sold out 8 p.m. show. A man in a separate protest group of two people, shouting into a bullhorn across the street, was punched in the face by another man who appeared to enter the club afterward. “We were out here protesting doing our thing,” said the injured protestor, who identified himself as George and declined to give a last name. “And the guy saw me, came up … and he was like ‘Oh yeah, well I think if you’re out here you’re a f—ing p—y.’ And I was like, ‘Whoa dude, OK, screw you.’ And then he went for me. He punched me in the face. He tried to punch me a couple times in the head, and that happened right as the cops started rolling up.” Police interviewed the man calling himself George, who had multiple cuts on his face, and then entered the club. Louis C.K. became one of the biggest stories in the #MeToo movement in 2017, after he was accused of sexual misconduct, and admitted to masturbating in front of female comics. After stepping away from the spotlight, he began performing again in New York last year, generating more controversy for his comedy, including a set in late December that appeared to mock survivors of the Parkland, Fla., school shooting. He hasn’t appeared to soften his act. The comedian opened his San Jose set on Wednesday with the line, “I like to jerk off, and I don’t like being alone,” according to a report by the Daily Beast. And while the Parkland jokes weren’t included, the Daily Beast reported that he mined humor in racial stereotypes and developmentally disabled children, and included a joke about 9/11. “I got on a plane once,” Louis C.K. said, according to the Daily Beast report. “And this couple comes up to me as we’re boarding. There’s an empty seat next to me, and this woman says to me, ‘Would you mind moving so my husband and I can sit together?’ And he’s behind her and he’s like (motions — no). I didn’t know what to do. I don’t wanna upset him. But I don’t wanna sit with his … wife. So I just got off the plane. “And then the plane took off. And it hit the World Trade Center.” Still, fans who attended the show took to social media with positive reviews, including one witness, @VirgilioBenG on Twitter, who said the comedian received a standing ovation at the beginning and end of his set. I went and saw Louis ck tonight at the improv and it was fun. Louis was really funny. He addressed the controversy at the beginning. He got a standing ovation at the beginning and the end. There were protesters outside but it was all peaceful. It was a really great time. — Virgilio (@VirgilioBenG) January 17, 2019 “The whole point of comedy is to say things that you shouldn’t say. That’s the entire point,” Louis C.K. reportedly told the audience. Enough is Enough’s chair is Stanford law professor Michele Dauber, who led a protest against Judge Aaron Persky gave a lenient sentence to Brock Turner, a former Stanford student convicted of three counts of sexual assault. Persky lost his job, after more than 60 percent of Santa Clara County voters cast ballots to remove him from the bench. Dauber said Louis C.K. should have expected protests, because “this is clearly a community that feels extremely strongly in opposition to sexual harassment and sexual violence.” “I was surprised because he’s an admitted serial sexual harassser who caused a lot of damage to the careers of women comedians,” Dauber added. “I think allowing him to come here is the same kind of old boys network in the comedy clubs that allowed Bill Cosby to be a predator for so many years.” San Jose Improv early this week posted new Louis C.K. shows for Wednesday and Thursday, Jan. 17, which sold out quickly, then added a second Thursday show. His last Bay Area performances before the controversy were at much larger venues, including Davies Symphony Hall and the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco. “I was just interested in seeing what he had to say,” said Brian Garrotte, who was hoping for waiting list tickets to be released. “I know it’s controversial, but comedy in general is supposed to be controversial.” Improv Comedy Clubs, which has more than two dozen locations, released a statement to The Chronicle on Wednesday defending the decision to book Louis C.K. “We see comedy as the final frontier and we don’t censor artists,” the statement read. “We want them to perform without scrutiny. We trust that our audiences can decide for themselves what their limits are. We understand that not everyone will agree with our decision and we respect their right to protest. We also respect Louis C.K.’s right to perform.” Taking a break from leading chants at the protest, Dauber pointed out that San Jose Improv has acts booked through May, with no female headliners listed. “That speaks volumes,” Dauber said. Down the street, as three police vehicles were parked outside the club, George acknowledged that he was using strong language against the ticket-holders entering the club. But he said he didn’t deserve to get hit.<doc-sep>
Louis C.K. has brought his divisive stand-up comedy act to the West Coast, and it’s already causing quite a stir. The embattled comedian, who faced a series of sexual misconduct allegations in 2017, took the stage of San Jose’s Improv Comedy Club on Wednesday for the first of three sold-out performances. (He’ll be back there Thursday.) The shows are the first to showcase him as a properly announced headliner since his fall from grace; he has been previously popping up and surprising audiences in East Coast comedy clubs. The full house at Wednesday’s show was countered by a few dozen protesters outside, many from the San Jose-based Enough Is Enough Voter Project, chanting, “Shame!” and “San Jose, not Man Jose.” The demonstration even led to a thrown punch, reported the San Francisco Chronicle. Onstage, the Emmy Award winner immediately acknowledged the controversy surrounding him. “I like to jerk off, and I don’t like being alone,” he said after receiving a standing ovation, according to the Daily Beast. “You’ve read the worst possible things you could read about a person, about me, and you’re here.” The “Louie” star defended his right to make questionable comments in his act, saying: “The whole point of comedy is to say things that you shouldn’t say.” Throughout the night, he reprised some of his controversial material, including jokes about black and Asian men’s penis sizes and “retarded” kids. Though he didn’t repeat any of his Parkland-related punchlines (which sparked outrage on social media), he made sure to reference them: “If you ever need people to forget that you jerked off, what you do is you make a joke about kids that got shot.” The comedian also went with a joke about 9/11 that he had made earlier in his career. “I got on a plane once,” he said. “And this couple comes up to me as we’re boarding. There’s an empty seat next to me, and this woman says to me, ‘Would you mind moving so my husband and I can sit together?’ And he’s behind her and he’s like [motions — no]. I didn’t know what to do. I don’t wanna upset him. But I don’t wanna sit with his ... wife. “So I just got off the plane,” he continued. “And then the plane took off. And it hit the World Trade Center.” This joke was met with more groans than laughter, according to the Daily Beast. Such seemed to be the general consensus among the audience by the end of the set. ashley.lee@latimes.com Twitter: @cashleelee