Comedy Clubs Are Ready for Louis C.K.’s Return, But Is Everybody Else?

When Louis C.K. stepped onstage unannounced Sunday night at the Comedy Cellar, just nine months after admitting to sexual misconduct, he set off a furious debate over whether his comeback was too soon or tone deaf. But in the club scene, where he forged his reputation as a master standup, insiders are acknowledging an awkward truth: He has a sizable base of support among owners and bookers of several renowned performance spaces who would be happy to have him back. In addition, some comedians are defending him as well.

“We would, at this point, let Louis have stage time,” Gina Savage, the general manager of the West Side Comedy Club in New York City, said in a phone interview. “I’ve known him many years. My interactions have been nothing but professional, which isn’t to say I condone any aspect of what he did. But I do believe in my heart of hearts, he is remorseful.”

Al Martin, the owner of Broadway Comedy Club as well as another club in Greenwich Village, said in an interview that he’d also include Louis C.K. in a lineup: “What he did was wrong, as the father of three daughters. When I heard about it, I said it was not right.”

However, he continued, “He was disgraced in the eyes of a lot of people. I think he’s really paid a pretty serious price.”

Louis Faranda, the talent booker for Carolines on Broadway, the Midtown club that is a frequent host to A-list standups, also told TMZ that he would welcome him.

As for comics, “Saturday Night Live” star Michael Che said in a series of posts on Instagram that were the subject of an intense backlash, “i don’t know any of his accusers. i dont know what hes done to right that situation, and its none of my business. but i do believe any free person has a right to speak and make a living.” (Che declined to be interviewed for this article.)

Similarly, comedian Michael Ian Black announced his support on Twitter for Louis C.K., a stance that was also immediately criticized: “I don’t know if it’s been long enough, or his career will recover, or if people will have him back, but I’m happy to see him try,” he wrote.

He apologized Wednesday, saying this position was “ultimately, not defensible.” (A representative for Black didn’t respond to a request for comment.)

In November, five women, all comedy colleagues, described in The New York Times episodes of inappropriate conduct by Louis C.K., including instances in which he masturbated in front of them. His television production deals were terminated, and the release of his film, “I Love You, Daddy,” which included a sequence with behavior similar to his real-life misconduct, was canceled.

In a statement at the time in which he admitted that “these stories are true,” he said, “I will now step back and take a long time to listen.” The set Sunday, according to the Comedy Cellar’s owner, Noam Dworman, involved “typical Louis C.K. stuff,” including bits on racism, waitresses’ tips and parades. If he had gained insight from his time away from the stage, he didn’t say so. Critics, including fellow comedians like Paul F. Tompkins, questioned why not, especially given Louis C.K.'s reputation for self-deprecation to the point of discomfort.

“He made a career out of embracing the uncomfortable. Suddenly this is beyond his powers to tackle?” Tompkins said in an email, adding, “Where is the evidence that he cares at all to redeem himself? That he understands what he did was wrong? That he has learned anything? That he has tried to pay for his abuses with more than an enforced vacation? Show me.”

Still, other comedy denizens gave him the benefit of the doubt. Savage said not addressing his misconduct “might have been an oversight.”

The fact that he dropped in unannounced Sunday was also a much-discussed topic among those connected with the scene. In New York City comedy, it is notoriously difficult for comics, especially up-and-comers, to find stage time at reputable clubs. Many have to rely on bringer shows — that is, they have to turn out a minimum number of audience members before they can get behind the mic. Kathy Griffin, in a post on Twitter, said this particularly affects women and minority standups. “And Louis just gets to glide back in on his own terms?” Griffin wrote. “Gosh, does it payoff to be in the boys club ... the white boys club.” But some gatekeepers have a different view. Many comedy shows are independently produced and the producers operate at the whim of owners who need to generate buzz — and ticket sales — for their club.

“I have to put him on because that’s what the owners are going to want to do,” said Ray Gootz, a veteran comedian who produces multiple weekly shows around the city and has often welcomed drop-ins. “At a club, the owners are going to want to put him up because there’s still money to be made with him and he’s still a name. The other thing is he’s one of the greatest comics of all time.”

Gootz added, however, that if he were a club owner, he wouldn’t let Louis C.K. onstage. “There’s so many comedians,” he said. “I just feel that somebody who messed up this bad, regardless of how good they are, there’s no reason to keep using him.”

Derek Humphrey, another comedian and producer who puts on a show called “Bushwick Bears” in Brooklyn every week, said he wouldn’t allow Louis C.K. to drop by. (Full disclosure: This reporter has performed standup on shows produced by Humphrey and Gootz, as well as at Carolines on Broadway and the Broadway Comedy Club.)

“I’d have to say no at this point,” Humphrey said. “I don’t think that the nine or 10 months he has gone through has been the proper atonement.” But he added a caveat: “If he reached out to us at our show and said, ‘Hey, I’m doing this new material about everything that’s been going on in my life and I want to talk about it. Can I have a forum?’ For sure.” Whether Louis C.K. is willing to do that is unclear — a representative did not respond to a request for comment. A Los Angeles comic, Jenny Yang, posted several suggestions Tuesday on what a path to atonement might look like. Among them: Privately apologizing to all the victims, and “if these survivors are still performing comedy or even if they are not, ensure that they get jobs, shows, and stage time for as long as they need through your considerable network of gatekeepers.”

Yang also said that Louis C.K. should “take a full accounting of all the earnings these survivors missed had they hypothetically continued on their career trajectories without your enablers. Pay them that amount.”

If there’s any profession that would easily allow a comeback in the #MeToo age, it’s standup. In the end, Louis C.K. doesn’t really need a studio greenlight or a network deal; he just needs a microphone and a space to work in, Tompkins noted.

“He can definitely make a living doing standup again, as this shows,” Tompkins said. “He can do comedy clubs and he can go back to theaters, I’m sure. He can release his own specials even if Netflix or HBO don’t want to carry them. I think he has a real opportunity to transform his life and the lives of other people for the better, to be an example that people can change if they want to, but this set doesn’t indicate to me that he’s headed that way.”