It’s Time to Bring Back Louis C.K.

While plenty is going on in my personal life to go on and on about, which is typically what I spend my blogposts rambling on, I’ve been thinking about writing this post for a while now. Since I haven’t thrown something up here since May, I figured I’d better snap to it already.

So, here’s the thing: it’s time to bring back Louis C.K. It’s time to let him come back.

Listen, I’m not the first one to tell you about, or comment on, the ‘MeToo’ movement where women, all over the world, of various ages, ethnicities, cultures, and cohorts are using social media to address their experiences with sexual violence.

With many of these cases, the men in question are pieces of human shit that are fucked in the head and should face legal and social repercussions for their actions.

And, before I continue this post, I should attest that I am not a fan of rape. Just not a fan. Can’t say I’ve ever tried it, but it’s one of those things where I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t like it. Kind of like trying cow tongue- I just have a feeling it’s not for me.

All rape jokes aside, I really want to express my personal opinion on one of my all-time favorite comedians.

Louis C.K.

While his real last name is something I don’t have the patience to type out correctly, he has been, for lack of a better term, a comedic idol for my Millennial generation.

Maybe it’s because I’m from Jersey and Louis is a New York based comic, but even in mid-fuck-nowhere towns like where I’m from, Louis C.K. was the guy that everyone talked about.

I mean, we were high school kids talking about the newest episode of Louie, or bringing up his old bits. He is an inspiration to an innumerable amount of wannabe comedians like me.

I grew up in a weird time for comedy, where Jeff Dunham and his puppets were catching the most attention aside from joke-stealing performers named Ned (I’m talking about Carlos Mencia).

It wasn’t until my early adolescence that I learned real comedy. You know: Carlin, Pryor, etc.

And then my library expanded from comedians ranging from Lewis Black to Ellen DeGeneres to Wanda Sykes to Jerry Seinfeld to Daniel Tosh.

While my friends and I may have been able to see all types of performance styles from numerous comics, Louis was easily our favorite. I remember watching his Comedy Central half-hours before he was at the level that he grew to be. I still crack up over his ‘give me back my jacket’ bit.

If you haven’t seen that one, check it out here: Louis CK ‘Give me back my jacket’

But, it’s not anything that Louis said that removed his show off Netflix, ended his relationship with FX, and eliminated him from the public eye.

No, Louis said just about anything and people were able to understand the humor behind it, no matter how dirty or offensive: from saying the n word (which we know he hates the term ‘the n word’) to talking about rats cumming, Louis was indestructible on stage.

For Louis, it was not anything he said, but rather, something he did.

During the #MeToo movement, at the seeming height of it, before it turned into the meme-like status that it has now, accusations about members of Hollywood were running rampant.

Hell, even Aziz Ansari got accused- though, I think that’s where the movement started to decline after general reactions were on Tom Haverford’s side.

Now, in no way approving or condoning Louis’ actions, I would say that comparatively, to the actions of Harvey Weinstein, or even Kevin fucking Spacey, Louis’ weren’t that bad.

I don’t know what it’s like to be in a hotel room with a naked, grown man, as ugly as Louis with his red hair and freckled skin, and I’m sure that sight alone is horrific, but to touch himself and not the women I think waters down the action.

Again, I’m not saying that exposing yourself or touching yourself in front of people who don’t want to see that is cool- by any means- but compared to other acts of sexual violence, I think even the most prominent feminist and MeToo supporters could agree it’s not on the worst side of things.

So, where am I going with all this?

I think it’s been enough time. I really do. We haven’t heard anything from Louis since November of last year. His website’s last update comes from October, when Louis was debuting a new film after a 16-year film making hiatus since the greatest contribution to cinema of all time. I’m talking, of course, about Pootie Tang.

I still can’t believe a pasty white man made that movie. Incredible.

But Loui’s newest film, I Love You Daddy is not available anywhere, even the trailer has been taken down.

On the bright side, though, as recently as April of this year articles of support from Edie Falco and Sarah Silverman have come out in defense of Louis. Another article suggests that Louis may once again rise to glory after returning to the dark, dingy basements of comedy clubs.

But, I think we need Louie now more than ever.

Our country is a little less torn than it was immediately following Trump’s election. I mean, fuck dude, you couldn’t go on Twitter or Facebook for like 4 days after November 8, 2017. But, still, wherever you go there are political heads crashing, acts of racial and sexual violence still permeating throughout news headlines, and other episodes of chaos always lurking in society.

Not that Louis C.K. is a figurehead for social harmony or anything, but with all that has continued to go on in this crazy world, there is nothing more important than time to laugh.

To laugh is an amazing thing. To respond to situations or events that, are typically painful, and instead smile and feel joy, is a holy thing. Even a guy who goes by the moniker, ‘Atheistjustin’ can appreciate the profound effect of humor on people and communities.

And maybe I’m just a selfish fan that wants to see a new Louis C.K. stand up special on Netflix. Maybe I just miss watching Louie episodes late at night. Maybe I’m wrong, and not enough time has passed for Louis to come back, just yet.

But I think it’s time for everyone to really consider it. I really think it’s time we allow him to come back to the public sphere: to remark on what happened, apologize, and move forward.

Hell, if we do let him come back, I think his next special will be one of the best pieces of comedy ever made. Period. I can’t imagine how he’d twist and turn the events that occurred to make us laugh- but if he can, and if he does, it will be groundbreaking.

So, on that note: I will conclude this little shpeal and leave you all with a picture of a young Louis C.K.