Nobody:
Comedy Cellar: No Bill Cosby!!!
Backstory:
How it started...
"When Louis wants to go on, we're sure he'll do it in a way that shows respect for the seriousness of the issue and will maybe be confessional in some way. We'll put him on if he chooses to do it at the Cellar. It will be dicey and we'll get some flack."
Dworman points to the success of Mike Tyson's Broadway show "Undisputed Truth," which is now in Las Vegas, as proof "there's no clear standard" for what society deems acceptable. In 1992, Tyson was sentenced to six years in prison after being found guilty of rape. Neither Ansari nor C.K. have been charged with anything criminal.
"Should Louis C.K. never be allowed to return to stand-up comedy?" Dworman asks.
Comedy Cellar owner says Aziz Ansari's quiet comeback has been a hit and Louis C.K. is welcomed to his stage too
www.nydailynews.com
How it ended...
Noam Dworman, the owner of New York City’s
Comedy Cellar, spoke about Louis C.K.’s surprise comedy set in a new interview with
The Huffington Post. C.K. made headlines for appearing at the famous comedy club on August 26. The comedian’s 15-minute set was one of his first public appearances since admitting to sexual misconduct last fall and sparked backlash against the Cellar for providing C.K. with a potential comeback.
“I’m very upset with him because my life has been substantially affected and his life has not, and I’m not sure he’s aware of it,” Dworman said, noting C.K. surprised even him by showing up to the Cellar unannounced that evening. “I’m not sure that he gave it sufficient thought. On the other hand, I think he’s been disconnected from the world and didn’t realize. I am upset.”
Dworman continued by criticizing C.K.’s set for not addressing “the elephant in the room.” C.K. did not talk about his history of sexual misconduct during his performance but he did
make a joke involving a rape whistle, which sparked even more backlash. Dworman lamented the fact his venue is now associated with an unsafe work environment after C.K.’s comeback.
“We were the place that never did that stuff and now I’m the national symbol of it,” Dworman said. “The very opposite of what I always stood for. The very ****ing opposite!”
Dworman admitted to not fully knowing all the details about C.K.’s sexual misconduct, specifically how some of the women he harassed were blackballed. “I don’t even know how that works,” he said. “Maybe that stuff goes on, but what would I know about it at the Comedy Cellar?”
“I would have loved to have spoken to [the women C.K. harassed]. It would have made my decision much more informed,” Dworman continued. “I can’t promise what I would have done had I heard them but I have made decisions when I hear something about somebody. Not because I feel obligated, but because this is also my life here. This is my social life. I still wish I could speak to them. I would take it very seriously.”
In the wake of C.K.’s appearance and the subsequent backlash, Dworman is implementing a new policy at the venue where audiences are free to leave the club should a surprise guest that makes them uncomfortable or that they don’t want to see pops in to perform a comedy set. The owner concluded by saying he doesn’t expect C.K. back to the Cellar “anytime soon.”
Noam Dworman, the owner of Manhattan's famous venue, says he doesn't expect C.K. to return to the club anytime soon.
www.indiewire.com
