Louis CK didn’t receive consent from many of the women he exposed himself to over many years, and yet Netflix eagerly consented not only to showcase the comedian at the Hollywood Bowl on May 5 as part of its Netflix Is A Joke Fest, but also to present his forthcoming Ridiculous special on the streaming platform.

Is anyone actually surprised by this turn of events? In 2026???

Before you come at me, please know that my disappointment at this point is no longer so much at Louis CK as it is with the system. For it’s the system that continues to fail us even more now than a comedy hero may have failed you or me in the recent past.

And the rot of failure runs deep, not just through show business but also all business, politics, athletics. Some of us noticed it a decade ago when Donald J. Trump’s Access Hollywood tape surfaced. Others caught on in the wake of the economy crash in 2008, when the powers that be declared the banks “too big to fail” and let virtually all of those who crashed the economy off the hook and with their riches intact. For others, still, the awakening came when they witnessed someone in their industry, or someone they once idolized, suffer no consequences when exposed for their wrongdoing.

In rare moments over the past decade, it felt as though #MeToo or Black Lives Matter might’ve made long-lasting differences for the better.

So when CK acknowledged that The New York Times had reported accurately on multiple women accusing him of exposing himself to them without their consent, the short-term consequences came suddenly. His representation dropped him almost immediately, and platforms from HBO to Netflix dropped his specials from their available listings. And yet.

The truth of his matters remained murky largely due to his own spinning of events, from the wording of his original “apology” to his reframing of events in his subsequent special, Sincerely Louis CK, wherein he told his fans that the women had actually said yes when he asked to masturbate in front of them. That he allegedly apologized directly to at least one of the women involved for something he actually had done to another woman is telling. We know this as one of the many revelations from the NYT documentary Sorry/Not Sorry, which featured some of the women he’d harmed (disclosure: I’m also a talking head in this doc). Left unsaid in all of that: The very real notion that he had harmed other women, as the Times piece only included allegations from women willing to go on the record. We don’t know the extent of his misdeeds. And we may never know. And yet.

The media also has failed us, whether by negligence or laziness. In reports of his new Netflix deal and Hollywood Bowl performance, Variety claimed he “mostly disappeared from the public eye for a few years before returning,” while The Hollywood Reporter said his new Netflix deal “appears to mark a turning point for the comedian, who had been exiled from many mainstream comedy spaces.” CK’s statement to the Times on Nov. 11, 2017 ended with him claiming “I will now step back and take a long time to listen.” He was back onstage as an unannounced surprise guest at the Comedy Cellar in August 2018, all of 10 months later. He resumed touring soon thereafter, filming a special (Sincerely Louis CK) that won him the Grammy for Best Comedy Album in 2022. He then returned to sell out Madison Square Garden. And his first novel became a New York Times best-seller.

For Netflix, as with so many others in our capitalist society, there’s no moral code, only a look at the financial bottom line, and only then in terms of how decisions impact the C-suite and the shareholders. Not the subscribers. Although the press releases will tout how subscribers vote with their views, and if Dave Chappelle and Ricky Gervais can generate such high ratings while trolling us by trafficking in transphobia, then why should they leave the potential profits of a new Louis CK special off the platform? They’ve already put his previous Netflix hour, 2017, back online in addition to two of his other previously self-released specials. He also directed another Netflix special, Adrienne Iapalucci: The Dark Queen.

But again, it’s not just about CK. Chris D’Elia remains disgraced following revelations of his improprieties with underage fans, and yet several of his specials are back on Netflix now. Tucker Carlson started a book imprint and promptly gave a deal to Russell Brand, despite the British comedian’s comeuppance last week on Piers Morgan and his upcoming rape trial(s).

While CK lost millions at the end of 2017, he certainly has made up for his financial losses since then. Some of those losses came out of his own pocket, buying the rights back to his 2017 film, I Love You, Daddy, after distribution was scuttled. If he wanted to, he could’ve released the film on his website. Perhaps a movie about a suspected pedophile filmmaker (whom CK actually wanted to cast Woody Allen for the role) isn’t good evidence in defense of his own reputation?

His 2025 podcast with Theo Von marked perhaps the first time publicly that CK was willing to see his side of things, the part he played, and the harm he caused. He spoke about attempting 12-step recovery for sex addiction, and by telling Von and his millions of listeners, you might think that could make it easier for the comedian to make amends. And yet.

He said he was avoiding that step: “But that’s all because I’m making these choices to stay in this. And it’s because I love the work and I want to share it. So I guess I really wish there was, I could have a simple kind of watershed where I can say, just: ‘yes to everything that happened and I’m sorry.’ I really am. And I’m just trying to do better. And I don’t think I can prove that to everybody, ’cause it’s a private thing. It’s a one-to-one man thing. It’s not a famous guy act. But I got work that I want to share with people. I have work that I think is worthy.  And there. If you don’t like it, you don’t like it. That’s always OK with me. When I’m onstage and I’m talking and people aren’t accepting it, that’s OK. Fair enough, man. And nobody owes me nothing. I’m trying. We’ll see what happens.”

He couldn’t apologize last year, but he could promote his novel with Bill Maher and bank riches from the Saudi Royal Family by performing at the Riyadh Comedy Festival. And he could write this new hour of material that he’s ending his tour with in Hollywood, and filming for Netflix.

Might the real amends come then? Or thereafter?

Ultimately, it doesn’t matter how muddled the message gets out via social media or mainstream media, because his fans are going to continue to believe what they want to believe. Just as the millions of movie-goers who saw Michael these past two weekends aren’t going to get their minds changed about anything involving Michael Jackson. Just as people will continue to believe what they want to believe about Elon Musk or Trump. Or any celebrity with a cult of personality.

As for CK and his comedy career, it doesn’t matter what comedy special I wish he’d produce. I can hope he were more forthright onstage sooner, perhaps displayed some real humility in his humor. I can lament the lack of human resources in the comedy industry. If you make your workplace unsafe, should you be allowed to keep your job? Again, the double standards between your workplace and that of the rich and famous became glaringly obvious.

What matters now and still is whether or not he can make an honest amends to the people he has directly harmed. Whether or not they accept his efforts is beside the point. For us and for him.

All of the noise around it is just ridiculous.

Sean L. McCarthy works the comedy beat. He also podcasts half-hour episodes with comedians revealing origin stories: The Comic’s Comic Presents Last Things First.