Althouse: What Sarah Silverman said about how different she was from those other women in front of whom Louis C.K. masturbated.

October 23, 2018

What Sarah Silverman said about how different she was from those other women in front of whom Louis C.K. masturbated.

New York Magazine sums it up. Let me see if I can make it even more concise:

1. Silverman told Howard Stern, "I’m not making excuses for [Louis C.K.]... But, you know, we are peers, we are equals. When we were kids, and he used to ask if he could masturbate in front of me, sometimes I’d go, 'Fuck yeah I want to see that!"

2. Silverman said she was not like "the other women who are talking about what he did to him" because the 2 of them were equals: "He could offer me nothing. We were only just friends."

3. One of those "other women," Rebecca Corry, said: "To be real clear, CK had 'nothing to offer me' as I too was his equal."

4. Now, I think that raises the question why didn't Corry just leave if there wasn't something she wanted from him or some power he held over her, but Silverman didn't go in that direction. She took the much safer route of being super-nice to Corry: "Rebecca I’m sorry. Ugh this is why I don’t like weighing in. I can’t seem to do press 4 my show w/out being asked about it. But you’re right- you were equals and he fucked with you and it’s not ok. I’m sorry, friend. You are so talented and so kind."

5. I don't know whether Silverman is still in trouble, but her effort to help rehabilitate her friend — who she says she "loves" and sees as a "brother" — got stalled.

67 comments:

rhhardin said...: The complaints are misdirected to society at large. They ought to go to a boyfriend or husband, who is wired to care about the particular woman's particular crazy state.

What society at large will do with the public complaint fantasy is for the moment up to soap opera, but eventually it will yawn.; 10/23/18, 11:53 AM
FIDO said...: Since I don't care at all about Silverman or financing her comeback, the question of why she needs rehabilitation is irrelevant.

Was it the 'Sorry, it's a boy' gag?

There were plenty of reasons to dislike her before that, leading with her lack of talent; 10/23/18, 11:54 AM
Michael K said...: Lefties jerking off in front of women is population control, I guess.

Zero Population growth, or something.; 10/23/18, 11:55 AM
rhhardin said...: I just saw the Fendi vulva scarf, without being traumatized. Fairly amused, in fact. The pussy hat trend is seriously outclassed.

Who knew you could make a vulva out of cloth folding. Oragasmi, the new science.; 10/23/18, 11:56 AM
Bill, Republic of Texas said...: There were plenty of reasons to dislike her before that, leading with her lack of talent

I can think of two reasons to not dislike her. I wonder if she allowed him to cum on them.; 10/23/18, 11:56 AM
rhhardin said...: She was in School for Scoundrels, which I don't remember or perhaps haven't watched yet.; 10/23/18, 11:58 AM
Bay Area Guy said...: When we were kids, and he used to ask if he could masturbate in front of me, sometimes I’d go, 'Fuck yeah I want to see that!"

So, in this instance, Mr. CK followed proper masturbation etiquette by obtaining oral consent from Ms. Silverman. Good for him!

However, a sane person might think, "Hmm, when with a girl, as randy as apparently Sarah Silverstein is, I thought one is supposed to move beyond such acts of self-stimulation, towards something a bit more intimate with the other person..."; 10/23/18, 12:03 PM
wild chicken said...: Seem like nice people.; 10/23/18, 12:04 PM
Earnest Prole said...: Let me summarize the difference in a single word: consent.; 10/23/18, 12:07 PM
JohnAnnArbor said...: Weird people.; 10/23/18, 12:09 PM
Francisco D said...: Lefty Snowflakes are triggered by contrary opinions or facts, but not a pervert masturbating in front of them?; 10/23/18, 12:14 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: Things I've learned recently:

There are people who surprise-masturbate in front of others, without intimacy involved, or established.

There are people who surprise-masturbate in front of others, and - if they don't like it - potted plants are substituted.

There are people who ask to masturbate in front of others, and some go "Fuck yeah I want to see that!"

There are people who make me re-think my casual approach to the handshake.

There are people whose "professional boundaries" are so different, from mine, it's little wonder I can't flourish amongst them.

There are people who work in comedy, but - rather than a goal of making others laugh uproariously - they think "pushing the boundaries" only refers to how dark they can comfortably go, before the public, without getting attacked.

There are people who bring shame upon our species.; 10/23/18, 12:18 PM
Lucien said...: Sarah Silverman doesn't always make me laugh (although I loved the "fucking Matt Damon" bit), but the Fendi Vulva Scarf thing is hilarious.; 10/23/18, 12:20 PM
William said...: I can see where such an act would be an imposition, but I don't see how it could seriously traumatize or damage the life of an adult woman. Now they're condemning not just the act but the people who are insufficiently critical of the act......Weiner and Louis CK are exhibitionists. I wonder if all this notoriety isn't in some way gratifying for them........As sex scandals go, this is silly rather than salacious or tragic. There are no useful life lessons to be learned from the downfall of Louis CK.; 10/23/18, 12:20 PM
Lucid-Ideas said...: Silverman is a well known pervert herself, albeit one with a good publicist. So I'm not surprised.

There is a well-known rumor in LA that she has a real taste for younger Christian men and public exhibitionism. Apparently she was caught a year ago in a stall in some club giving head to an 18 year old and there are pictures floating about on the net of her in several venues with her breasts hanging out.

So grain-o-salt...maybe not the same thing...but ballpark. Birds of a feather.; 10/23/18, 12:21 PM
Martha said...: but didn’t Silverman normalize Louis CK’s aberrant behavior?
If Sarah had, as a friend and equal, gently disapproved of Louis CK’s proposal, perhaps he would have moved beyond masturbation in front of uninterested women to get his kicks.; 10/23/18, 12:22 PM
Hagar said...: What is wrong with these people?; 10/23/18, 12:22 PM
Christy said...: Sounds as though Silverman is a strong woman caught up in a maelstrom that pretends to honor strong women but deifies victims. Or simply finds victims useful and finds strong women an uninteresting distraction. She is a victim of her culture, but neither she nor any of the cool kids realize it.; 10/23/18, 12:24 PM
JohnAnnArbor said...: There are people who make me re-think my casual approach to the handshake.

That's funny--and a good point at the same time.

What is wrong with these people?

Indeed.; 10/23/18, 12:25 PM
Trumpit said...: Trump masturbates on a grand scale. IT is so enormously impressive in every way except in the one that matters - IT ain't real; it's just a dick like he is. Some call Schlump a schmuck, but doling out tax cuts for his rich friends and dealing in insults are Schlump's shtick not mine. A phallus by any other name would throb and pulsate. Dickheads have a lot in common no matter the house or White House they reside in.

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet. "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet" is a popular reference to William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet, in which Juliet seems to argue that it does not matter that Romeo is from her family's rival house of Montague, that is, that he is named "Montague".; 10/23/18, 12:26 PM
tim maguire said...: If Rebecca Cory was C.K.'s equal (yeah, right!), then she has no complaint. When he asked, she could have and should have said no.

The whole crux of the issue was "powerful entertainer takes advantage of aspiring wannabe to get his rocks off." It was a version of the casting couch, now it's just a bad date.; 10/23/18, 12:32 PM
Ignorance is Bliss said...: Michael K said...

Lefties jerking off in front of women is population control, I guess.

And what if I use my right hand?; 10/23/18, 12:34 PM
Marcus said...: And Trumpit masturbates in front of us, right there.; 10/23/18, 12:34 PM
Francisco D said...: There are people who make me re-think my casual approach to the handshake.

Thread winner!; 10/23/18, 12:36 PM
Temujin said...: I never got the Sarah Silverman thing. She's just not funny. Unless you think hearing 'vagina' and 'fuck' multiple times through a routine is genius.

I have always had a mixed view of Louis CK. He can be seriously funny, then seriously pointlessly crude- just to be crude. His TV show was great. His spin-off produced TV show was also good. He's got great creative chops.

But there's always been this thing about him that I couldn't put my finger on. (bad wording choice). Once it became clear he likes to just masturbate in front of random women (or maybe it's just random comediennes- can I still use that word?), it all kinda fit. He has this sort of just-under-the-surface sleaze about him. I see it now and can't stop seeing it. I'll always just see the guy reaching into his pants when I do see him in the future.

Still- I think the guy has a good creative comedic mind- and a good eye for human interaction. Just don't know where the Stop Everything, I Have To Masturbate Now impulse comes in.

Loved this comment: There are people who make me re-think my casual approach to the handshake.; 10/23/18, 12:41 PM
Jim at said...: and dealing in insults are Schlump's shtick not mine. - Trumpit

That's perfect.; 10/23/18, 12:48 PM
Molly said...: Louis CK probably learned the following from this interaction: "When you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything." And he probably learned: "Lots of attractive women really love to watch me masturbate. I'm not imposing on them, I'm bringing them pleasure, just as I bring them pleasure by making them laugh, or as I would bring them pleasure by playing the cello or singing a love ballad if those were skills I possessed."; 10/23/18, 12:49 PM
Ignorance is Bliss said...: The Crack Emcee said...

There are people who make me re-think my casual approach to the handshake.

Why do you think Michelle made Barack switch to the terrorist fist jab?; 10/23/18, 12:53 PM
PM said...: According to Emily Post, only phone sex masturbation is acceptable as long as it's not performed on a bus, in a cubicle or at a restaurant.; 10/23/18, 12:54 PM
WK said...: I wonder who Louis CK was thinking about when he was looking at Sarah Silverman. Although I thought her segment in “The Aristocrats” was funny.; 10/23/18, 12:55 PM
Jupiter said...: Blogger Temujin said...
"I never got the Sarah Silverman thing. She's just not funny."

Check this out;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xsaMcw69D8

Actually, she does have a pretty nice rack, for such a skinny little thing.; 10/23/18, 12:58 PM
Bay Area Guy said...: If a male asked my consent to allow self-stimulation in my presence, I would forcefully decline the request.

If a male asked my consent to allow self-stimulation into a potted plant, in my presence, I would still decline the request.

If a female asked, well, depending on the circumstances, I might ask some clarifying follow-up questions.....; 10/23/18, 1:08 PM
William said...: If I were a young starlet (and here on the internet can you be really sure I'm not?), I'd much rather be exploited in this way than any of the others. If you had to participate in Harvey Weinstein's sex life, watching him masturbate definitely takes precedence over any other known sex act, We should not be discouraging this relatively harmless form of release for Hollywood power players,; 10/23/18, 1:10 PM
William said...: I just finished watching the BBC series on Victoria. The Victorian era was the Golden Age of sex scandals. Prince Albert discovers his father's brother was his real father. Prince Albert's brother has syphilis and wonders how to pursue a courtship of a titled woman. The Prime Mnister's gay secretary weighs the pros and cons of marriage in order to pursue a political career, I presume these are based on real events. These scandals are much more entertaining than Louis CK's masturbatiry habits.; 10/23/18, 1:17 PM
Professional lady said...: Contemplating Sarah Silverman and Kathy Griffin, I think that living by those boring bourgeois values is pretty good.; 10/23/18, 1:24 PM
Bill Peschel said...: Following on Crack's great comment, there's the story of the woman who came up to James Joyce and said, "May I shake the hand of the man who wrote 'Ulysses'?"

He said, "No. It does other things as well."

Joyce, for those who don't know, was all about handjobs. His first day with his future wife, he took her to a park where she:

“slid your hand down inside my trousers and pulled my shirt softly aside and touched my price with your long tickling fingers and gradually took it all, fat and stiff as it was, into your hand and frigged me slowly until I came off through your fingers, all the time bending over and gazing at me out of your quiet saintlike eyes.”

Joyce Day in Dublin is held on June 16 to commemorate that.; 10/23/18, 1:24 PM
Char Char Binks, Esq. said...: "He could offer me nothing. We were only just friends."

A man has to have enough wealth and/or power to be worth shaking down.; 10/23/18, 1:28 PM
Nonapod said...: Louis CK will be somewhat forgiven... eventually. He'll be allowed back into the light in a minimal way, but he'll never be able to re-achieve the level of fame and prosperity he lost.

Personally I don't believe that what he did was really that bad. Gross, but not that bad. But then again I'm a guy. I don't like his politics and I found some of the things he's said about Sarah Palin to be a little unhinged and bizarre, but I have found him funny in the past.; 10/23/18, 1:29 PM
Lyssa said...: It was very rude of Silverman to suggest that she, as a a woman, may have individual agency or power. Such things are not compatible with modern feminist thinking.; 10/23/18, 1:43 PM
JAORE said...: Actually, she does have a pretty nice rack, for such a skinny little thing.

They sell 'em in any size you want.; 10/23/18, 1:48 PM
robother said...: Whatever you think of Silverman's comedic chops, you have to admire her passive aggressive Queen Bee number on the other 2 women. SHE's Louis CK's equal, so it's different. Corry got it, and so did we all (who couldn't tell Corry from a bump on a log.; 10/23/18, 1:50 PM
ALP said...: Bill Peschel: OMG how long before Joyce is ERASED from history for public hand jobs??? Feminists are gathering now on Earl Street, ready to take his statue DOWN!; 10/23/18, 1:58 PM
Ken B said...: I'm not a fan of hers, but I think it’s good to see someone on the Left trying to roll back the hate. Prole got it in one, the key word is consent. But a lot of people want to destroy him even when he gets consent. She's making the same point.; 10/23/18, 2:08 PM
SeanF said...: Martha: but didn’t Silverman normalize Louis CK’s aberrant behavior?
If Sarah had, as a friend and equal, gently disapproved of Louis CK’s proposal, perhaps he would have moved beyond masturbation in front of uninterested women to get his kicks.

She should have disapproved, in order to teach him not to get off on disapproval?; 10/23/18, 2:10 PM
tim in vermont said...: Sarah Silverman is a hottie. I am sure the problem with her in real life is the lack of a mute button. But she can be very funny too, if she could bring herself to stay away from politics.; 10/23/18, 2:25 PM
alan markus said...: I have wondered if Sarah Silverman has any "daddy" issues. I recall reading a very long time ago (must have been pre-internet, as I can not find it) that she spoke about her dad telling her filthy sexual jokes at a very young age. She credited that with her well developed comedic abilities. In more recent years I see bios that talk about him teaching her swear words as soon as she could talk. He enjoyed the time his mother offered Sarah brownies and she said "you can shove them up your ass." All kinds of family fun there.; 10/23/18, 2:30 PM
Achilles said...: Temujin said...
"I never got the Sarah Silverman thing. She's just not funny."

Check this out;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xsaMcw69D8

Actually, she does have a pretty nice rack, for such a skinny little thing.

Proof anyone can be funny.

Anyone.

Given the right circumstances.; 10/23/18, 2:44 PM
Bill Peschel said...: I've mentioned elsewhere (and probably at tedious length) that celebrities are not known for their mental stability and empathy. They are paid liars, after all.

Then there are the comedians, who say, "hold my beer" when it comes to mental aberrations. Listen to Gilbert Gottfried's podcast with comedians as guests, and you'll hear that point driven home again and again.

So let's make them our thought leaders, why don't we?; 10/23/18, 2:45 PM
FIDO said...: It is a testament to her unpleasantness that I did not even notice Silverman's rack.

Her mustache stands out much more; 10/23/18, 3:29 PM
MayBee said...: Christy said...
Sounds as though Silverman is a strong woman caught up in a maelstrom that pretends to honor strong women but deifies victims. Or simply finds victims useful and finds strong women an uninteresting distraction. She is a victim of her culture, but neither she nor any of the cool kids realize it.

Exactly.

Lyssa said...
It was very rude of Silverman to suggest that she, as a a woman, may have individual agency or power. Such things are not compatible with modern feminist thinking

Exactly.

And for those of you saying consent is the difference, CK asked for consent and got it. It's just that the other women decided they had no choice but to say yes, even though CK had no power over them.; 10/23/18, 3:57 PM
sdharms said...: Ann, Why in G*d's name do you print this disgusting stuff?; 10/23/18, 4:24 PM
Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...: "Shaking hands with the Unemployed" was a masturbation euphemism; 10/23/18, 4:32 PM
Bay Area Guy said...: Wacking off in public is thoroughly anti-social behavior. And this includes potted plants.; 10/23/18, 4:55 PM
Gk1 said...: Aren't lefties adorable how they twist themselves into logic pretzels to explain away behavior they would condemn, say, if the artist in question had differing political views? CK is a political operative desperately needed back in teh cultural wars and Sarah's trying to give him air cover. Fine by me, they aren't fooling anyone whos not already on their team anyway.; 10/23/18, 5:02 PM
FIDO said...: If someone says yes and doesn't mean it, how is a person acting in bad faith if they accept the stated words of the person?; 10/23/18, 5:05 PM
alan markus said...: From the Playboy Interview:

SILVERMAN: I kinda sided with my dad but I couldn’t leave my mom’s side. My sisters went with my dad but I was afraid to. I don’t know why. My dad would come over and take walks with me, and that was the best. But I could never fall asleep at his house.

SILVERMAN: No, it’s all visual. It’s cerebral. It’s like, “Hey look, tits.” [Laughs.] When I was twelve, my dad gave me these books, Truly Tasteless Jokes and Truly Tasteless Jokes Part 2. I remember reading them and thinking, “I’m too young for this.” They were so dirty.

SILVERMAN: I remember the very first joke. It was about Little Red Riding Hood. She’s in the forest and the Wolf says to her, “I’m going to eat you” and Red Riding Hood says, “Eat, eat, eat. Doesn’t anybody f**k anymore?” I don’t know why I remember it. At the time, I had no idea why it was funny. But I knew it was dirty because it had the word f**k in it.

PLAYBOY: When did you realize that you had a problem with bed-wetting?

SILVERMAN: When I realized that all my friends weren’t wetting their beds too. I remember going on a camping trip and hiding diapers in the bottom of my sleeping bag. Diapers! I was thirteen, and I slipped into them in my sleeping bag when everybody else was asleep.; 10/23/18, 5:15 PM
Friendo said...: Crack@12:18 astute observations

Trumpit@12:26 step away from the bong, man.; 10/23/18, 5:22 PM
Flat Tire said...: Blogger SDaly said...
"Crack and Iowahawk would produce funnier sketches than the current crop of SNL write"

I'd even get a tv for that. Nice to have Crack back.; 10/23/18, 5:48 PM
Aussie Pundit said...: Louis CK is funny, but much of his humour derives from his persona as a damaged, perverted degenerate.
I never thought it was 'just an act' - it seemed pretty real to me - and so I am neither surprised, nor care much, about this controversy. He's still funny, and he's still a sad, twisted man.; 10/23/18, 5:50 PM
Aussie Pundit said...: The whole crux of the issue was "powerful entertainer takes advantage of aspiring wannabe to get his rocks off." It was a version of the casting couch, now it's just a bad date.

The logic of this whole issue requires a really unusual meaning of 'power.'
The 'power' of opening career doors as a personal favor is not coercive power.
Put it this way - if the women walked away from him and pretended they had never met him - would they be worse off than if they had never met him? Only if he participated in blacklisting (which nobody is accusing him of).; 10/23/18, 5:59 PM
tim in vermont said...: Strumpit is doing performance art. I hope she never stops posting here.; 10/23/18, 6:09 PM
gilbar said...: i only really know Sarah Silverman as Principal HardAzz in Steel Panther's DEATH TO ALL BUTT METAL video. And she's quite funny in that.; 10/23/18, 7:13 PM
MayBee said...: This is my opportunity to recommend the HBO Series "Crashing" to everyone.; 10/23/18, 7:57 PM
eddie willers said...: Rosie, you're alright
(You wear my ring)
When you hold me tight
(Rosie, that's my thing)
When you turn out the light
(I got to hand it to me)
Looks like it's me and you again tonight, Rosie

Jackson Browne: Rosie; 10/23/18, 8:01 PM
Gunner said...: Silverman was cool in the 90s when she was taunting the Asian PC police, but then she got more famous and only went after safe targets like Republicans.; 10/23/18, 11:05 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: gilbar said...

"i only really know Sarah Silverman as Principal HardAzz in Steel Panther's DEATH TO ALL BUTT METAL video. And she's quite funny in that."

"That chick's retarded, Dude."; 10/24/18, 2:37 AM
Clark said...: Ann, Why in G*d's name do you print this disgusting stuff?

There have been so many times on long flights where I'd have killed for a print version of Althouse.; 10/24/18, 7:39 AM