April 5, 2020

Louis C.K. is back with a comedy special.

You have to pay $8 and buy it straight from his website. He's on his own now, the big pariah. If you think that might be funny, you're perfectly free to buy his show.

Sample material (copied from this article, at the Independent):
“I like jerking off, I don’t like being alone, that’s all I can tell you. I get lonely, it’s just sad. I like company. I like to share. I’m good at it, too. If you’re good at juggling, you wouldn’t do it alone in the dark. You’d gather folks and amaze them.... If you want to do it with someone else, you need to ask first. But if they say yes, you still don’t get to go, ‘Woo!’ and charge ahead. You need to check in often, I guess that’s what I’d say.... It’s not always clear how people feel. Men are taught to make sure the woman is okay. The thing is, women know how to seem okay when they’re not okay.... It’s kind of like a Negro spiritual.... It’s sort of similar. So to assume that she likes it is like if they heard slaves singing in the field and you’re like, ‘Hey, they’re having a good time out there.'”
If you're in the never-ever-ever-compare-anything-to-slavery set, you'll have to stay away. Also if comparisons to juggling squick you out.

55 comments:

David Begley said...

He’s sick. And not funny. Never was.

actual items said...

FWIW - Louis C.K. did a lot of direct-to-consumer distribution via email and his website prior to his troubles.

Jeff Gee said...

Nobody is amazed by how well you can juggle. They are startled and delighted that you can juggle AT ALL. For about 10 seconds. Then they smile politely. Then you go home thinking, "I'm gonna practice some more! I'll juggle FIVE balls! They'll be AMAZED!" And they will be. For about 10 seconds.

Narr said...

As Boris explained to the Countess in "Love and Death," "I practice a lot when I'm alone."

Narr
Too soon?

Jupiter said...

He said Negro!

bgates said...

if comparisons to juggling squick you out

it's not all that difficult with just two balls.

Though once you add a third object, esp with a very different shape, it gets a lot harder.

It's really impressive when two people pair up and do it, starting out really close and then moving ten, twenty feet apart. I keep wondering, "don't they ever hit the other guy in the face?"

To me it seems just reckless to involve flame or chainsaws, but I know some people do.

Darkisland said...

I wonder what it means to be "good at jerking off"?

How is this measured?

John Henry

tim maguire said...

I'd need to see some clips before shelling out. But, contra Dave Begley, Louis CK can be brilliant, literally laugh out loud funny.

Bay Area Guy said...

The "That's Not Funny" tag is temporarily suspended during the 21st Century Black Plague.

(pause)

Ba-da bing!

Unknown said...

I just wanted to cmment on your phrase: "Squick you out." That's great!

And also to Second Actual.

This is nothing new to him, from a humor or marketing perspective. He gots lots of kudos for his monetization before he had his fall from grace.

RigelDog said...

He's disgusting and has been dead to me ever since he did a routine that referred to a part of Sarah Palin's anatomy as a retard-producing c*t. But cancel-culture is poison and if people want to hear him, it's good that he's finding ways to avoid cancel-culture-death.

Lucien said...

Sometimes doing two shows a night, five nights a week can lead to chafing (or so I have heard (anecdotally)). At least he didn’t mention string quartets at Auschwitz.

Lurker21 said...

You have to pay $8 and buy it straight from his website

Big deal. For $10 he will come over to your house and masturbate there.

-------

Funny guy. Interesting case. He went from being rich in a poor country (Mexico) to being poor in a rich country (the USA) when his parents divorced. I suspect he was confused about whether he was Mexican or American, Catholic or Jewish, Irish or Hungarian. Pamela Adlon, similar case.

Comedy, so they say, is about trauma.

whitney said...

How clever of him to release it while everyone's on a stay-at-home order. I bought it. Mostly because I hate the people that turned on him more than I like him but he can be funny. I'll give it a shot

Temujin said...

Agree with Tim Maguire. Louis CK can be laugh out loud funny and is occasionally brilliant. But, he can also remind you that not all of his material is great. Sometimes he's just gross for the sake of it. But on the bit of comparing slaves singing spirituals to women showing approval when they really disapprove...I thought it was funny. Not in a 'let's make fun of slaves' funny. But as an extreme comparison for a really horrible character flaw in himself.

I mean, who looks for others to jerk off in front of? Let's see some hands.

whitney said...

So far, it's absolutely hilarious. I'm 1 minute and 48 seconds in

Sebastian said...

"The thing is, women know how to seem okay when they’re not okay"

Women! Speak up! Say what you want! And what you don't want! And not after the fact!

Fernandinande said...

If you like dogs and naked ladies, you'll like this funny picture.

Xmas said...

Using the word "squick" is amazing, especially once you know its meaning.

Also, Louis CK is brilliant. His "Of course...but maybe" bit is genius.

CJinPA said...

I don't think the joke as about slavery. It's about portrayals like the Jungle Book that made it seem somewhat enjoyable. That's my take anyway.

traditionalguy said...

Proudly having fantasy sex with your hand seems so pre-Corona Virus. Not that there is anything wrong with that.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

He needs to get past the jerky boy stuff.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

“Don't knock masturbation. It's sex with someone you love.” ― Woody Allen

Bob Boyd said...

Louis C K said he will wear a mask when masturbating in public, drawing a contrast with the old Louis C K amid the cancel culture pandemic.

Josephbleau said...

How does it decline, squick, squak, squoke, squoken?

Bob Boyd said...

I wonder what it means to be "good at jerking off"?

How is this measured?


I imagine it's pretty subjective.

Josephbleau said...

How does it decline, squick, squak, squoke, squoken?

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

That’s actually some bold shit. The backstory isn’t exactly uplifting, but good for him for confronting it.

Bob Boyd said...

I wonder what it means to be "good at jerking off"?

He can switch hands and gain a stroke.

Chris Lopes said...

Maybe it improves with the delivery, but it sure isn't funny just reading it.

Bob Boyd said...

There's no business like show business
Like no business I know
Everything about it is appealing
Everything that traffic will allow
Nowhere could you get that happy feeling
When you are stealing that extra bow

Clyde said...

What do masturbation and juggling have in common? They both have balls in the air.

Sally said...

"How is this measured?"

Distance, quantity, accuracy . . .

rcocean said...

Pathetic, sick, and unfunny. Why isn't he on SNL?

Robert J. said...

Blogger search tells me this is only the second time Althouse has ever used the word "squick." It does seem like a very un-Althouse word.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Speaking of comedy...
How she does it with a straight face is beyond me. LOL.

The Moodivator, at your service.

Freeman Hunt said...

Watched it last night. Not his best. Imagine it will be extremely profitable though.

William said...

I wonder if he will ever find a way out of this imbroglio. His crime was more ridiculous than dastardly. I just don't know what's the proper level of condemnation or the proper acts of contrition. Uncharted waters. We don't have that many men in public life who have ever been involved in such a scandal.....Sometimes it's not the crime, but the time. Woody Allen and Roman Polanski were able (for a time) to bounce back from their far nastier scandals.....When in disgrace in fortune and men's eyes, practice juggling. I wonder if all this has increased or diminished his enjoyment of public juggling or if he even continues the practice.

Earnest Prole said...

When CK and his movie I Love You, Daddy were cancelled I found a bootleg copy (I would have gladly paid for it but that wasn't an option) and enjoyed it thoroughly.

Van Wallach said...

Louis C.K. should offer to donate $4 from each purchase of his online performance to Biden's campaign. That would inspire Biden's followers to dig deep and laugh loud to support their main man.

Darrell said...

Who's ever said suck my dick or I'll replace you in my show--I have a filing cabinet full of letters from female comedians telling me they'll do anything to be on one of my specials.

Louis, raise your hand.

JAORE said...

"If you're in the never-ever-ever-compare-anything-to-slavery set, you'll have to stay away."

Or if you are adverse to spending money when the guy ain't funny....

He does have a delivery that is unique and a big part of his comedy. Frankly he's not a string-of-jokes-guy. But if I see a movie trailer for a comedy and it falls that flat.... no thanks.

Wince said...

Do I remember the first time I had sex?

Boy, do I. I was so scared!

I was all alone.

- Rodney Dangerfield

SGT Ted said...

The Negro Spiritual thing is actually pretty good.

Fernandinande said...

"Squick you out." That's great!

Pretty sure "squick you out" is incorrect usage and it should just be "squick".

narciso said...

likewise

Narr said...

I was told that if I used my other hand, it would feel like someone else.

Narr
Worked for a while!

walter said...

If he's that good at it that he wants an audience, he should join a sexcam network and compete.

J. Farmer said...

He's disgusting and has been dead to me ever since he did a routine that referred to a part of Sarah Palin's anatomy as a retard-producing c*t.

Hahahahaha

See, this is where I differ from most people. I find this joke far less offensive than using a Down's Syndrome baby as a campaign prop.

Nichevo said...

Men are taught to make sure the woman is okay. The thing is, women know how to seem okay when they’re not okay...


The thing is, if there's no solution, there's no problem. Little is harder or less rewarding than mind reading. So may as well one of you be happy.

A Voice of Reason said...

Hat tip to anyone who can get hundreds or thousands to pay to hear them stand on a stage and speak a monologue. It's pure, unforced capitalism. You can vote with your pocketbook.

Ann Althouse said...

I watched it. Thought it was good. Serious and funny. Well acted.

The last 5 minutes were deliberately comedy turning into painful drama. I was surprised that it ended that way.

Daniel Jackson said...

He's clearly not charging enough. If he simply outed himself as a "cam-boy" he could make far more money and people could pay to have him change hands, or use less lotion, or whatever.

He certainly could play to a more selective audience. They probably would join in at home.

Fernandinande said...

Pretty sure "squick you out" is incorrect usage and it should just be "squick".

Oops, left out a word. '..should just be "squick you"', not "squick you out" as per the usage examples.

Blair said...

Saying you are good at masturbation, as if there's some significant scale of skill (at least where men are concerned) is a bit like saying you're good at boiling water.

It's like I always say, male sexuality is kind of like pizza. Even if the pizza isn't very good, you're still eating pizza...