Louis CK condemned after leaked audio shows him ranting about gender pronouns and school shooting survivors

Disgraced comedian reportedly said he didn't care if his jokes were too crude because 'my life is over... I don't give a s**t'

Roisin O'Connor
Monday 31 December 2018 10:30 GMT
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Leaked audio of Louis CK shows him joking about Parkland shooting survivors

A leaked set from one of Louis CK's controversial appearances at the Comedy Cellar has caused uproar after he mocked young people who wish to be referred to with gender neutral pronouns, along with the survivors of the Parkland school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High.

In the audio, the disgraced comedian is heard speaking at the New York comedy venue on 16 December, according to Metro, where he complains about the younger generation.

"I'm a little disappointed in the younger generation, honestly, because I'm 51 years old, and when I was like, 18 to my twenties, we were idiots. We are out getting high, doing mushrooms and s**t, and then older people were like 'you've got to get your s**t together' and we were like, 'f*** you'.

He continued: "They're just boring. Telling you, 'you shouldn't say that'... what are you, an old lady? 'That's not appropriate' – f*** you, you're a child. They're like royalty, they tell you what to call them. 'You should address me as they/them because I identify as gender neutral.' OK. You should address me as 'there' because I identify as a location, and the location is your mother's c***."

He then said: "I don't know. They testified in front of Congress, these kids. Like, what the f***? What are you doing? You're young. You should be going crazy. You should be unhinged, not in a suit saying: 'I'm here to tell...' f*** you. You're not interesting 'cause you went to a high school where kids got shot. Why does that mean I have to listen to you? How does that make you interesting? You didn't get shot. You pushed some fat kid in the way and now I got to listen to you talk?"

CK appeared to be referring to Emma Gonzalez, 19, and David Hogg, 18, who became vocal activists for gun reform in the wake of the shooting at their school, which left 17 students and teachers dead.

During one particular crude joke he reportedly said: "What are you, going to take away my birthday? My life is over. I don't give a s**t."

In another recent set, CK joked about "losing $35m in an hour" after he admitted to allegations of sexual misconduct, following a report in the New York Times that published accusations by five women who claimed CK had masturbated either in front of them or while he was talking to them on the phone.

In a statement issued after the news emerged, he said: "These stories are true. At the time, I said to myself that what I did was OK because I never showed a woman my d**k 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 d**k isn't a question. It's a predicament for them."

CK's most recent set has been met by condemnation from critics.

A report in the Daily Beast accused him of "pandering to the alt-right", commenting: "There would likely have been an eager leap to forgiveness had he handled the aftermath with any sort of contrition, education, campaigning or awareness.

"Instead, we've been greeted by smugness, pettiness, offensiveness, and frustration, the kind of that signals nothing learned – when the base level for some of our forgiveness is anything learned – and a pandering to the kind of community that will cheer his ignorance and amplify his message."

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