Louis CK accused of sexual misconduct by 5 women
— -- Louis C.K. has been accused of sexual misconduct by five women.
The comedian, whose given name is Louis Szekely, is alleged to have masturbated in front of several female associates, according to a new report by The New York Times.
The comedian's publicist, Lewis Kay, told the New York Times, "Louis is not going to answer any questions," and later told ABC News that the comedian would issue a written statement "in the coming days."
Dana Min Goodman and Julia Wolov, members of a Chicago comedy duo, told the newspaper that Louis C.K. invited them to his hotel room for a nightcap after their late-night show in 2002. He then allegedly proceeded to "take all of his clothes off and get completely naked and started masturbating," Goodman said. They were "paralyzed," she added, and said that they fled the room after he finished.
Actress Abby Schachner told the Times that when she called the comedian in 2003 to invite him to one of her shows, she could hear him masturbating while they spoke.
Another comedian, Rebecca Corry, told the newspaper that Louis C.K. approached her when they were shooting a TV pilot together in 2005. "He asked if we could go to my dressing room so he could masturbate in front of me," she recalled. She said she declined.
The pilot's executive producers, Courteney Cox and David Arquette, confirmed the incident, with Cox writing in an email to the Times, "What happened to Rebecca on that set was awful." They discussed shutting down the production but Corry said she wanted to continue with the show.
A fifth woman, who spoke anonymously to the Times, said Louis C.K. repeatedly asked her to watch him masturbate while they worked together on "The Chris Rock Show" in the late 1990s. Though she said she knew it was wrong, she told the newspaper that she went along with his request because of the "culture." "He abused his power," she said.
The Orchard, the distribution company for Louis C.K.'s new movie "I Love You Daddy," abruptly canceled Thursday's premiere of the film.
"In light of the allegations concerning Louis C.K. referenced in today’s New York Times, we are canceling tonight’s premiere of 'I Love You, Daddy.' There is never a place for the behavior detailed in these allegations," the distributor said in a statement obtained by ABC News.
"As a result, we are giving careful consideration to the timing and release of the film and continuing to review the situation," the statement added.
The controversial film, shot in black and white, was written and produced by Louis C.K., and the comedian stars in it alongside Chloë Grace Moretz and John Malkovich. The film centers around a successful television writer whose daughter becomes the object of obsession by a much older filmmaker. According to the Times, a character in the film pretends to masturbate at length in front of other people.
Louis C.K. also canceled a scheduled appearance on "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert," and HBO announced that he would no longer participate in “Night of Too Many Stars: America Unites for Autism Programs." The cable network will also be removing his past projects from its on demand services, according to a statement. FX Networks released a statement as well, indicating that the network has never received an allegation of misconduct related to the five shows that they've produced with him over the past eight years.
"FX Networks and FXP take all necessary actions to protect our employees and thoroughly investigate any allegations of misconduct within our workplace. That said, the matter is currently under review," it concluded.
