After the New York Times published a piece detailing allegations from five different women that Louis C.K. either masturbated in front of them or asked to masturbate in front of them, C.K.'s former long-time manager Dave Becky has issued a response after two of the women in the piece, Dana Min Goodman and Julia Wolov, said they felt pressured by Becky to keep quiet about the incident.
In a statement published by Deadline, Becky says he regrets and is sorry for his role in the allegations, and says he didn't fully understand what happened when the alleged incident occurred.
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"If I had, I would have taken this event as seriously as it deserved to be, and I would have confronted Louis, which would have been the right thing to do," he wrote.
The rest of the letter reads:
"I am providing this context so that others do not make the same mistake I did. At that time, I heard the story third-hand, and I interpreted the conversation as two women telling a story about a sexual encounter with a then-married Louis. Albeit enormously embarrassing, in no way did I interpret the interaction as threatening or non-consensual. I misperceived the casual way the story was portrayed to me – instead I should have recognized that it must have been a mask for their unease and discomfort in the face of his detestable behavior. My intent was to seek discretion to protect what I thought was a matter of infidelity. I now comprehend that my response was perceived as a threat to cover-up sexual misconduct. This is not an excuse. What I did was wrong, and again, I am extremely sorry.
In hindsight, I was operating blindly from a one-sided place of privilege. Until last week, I knew only of this one isolated incident. Although this may sound naïve, it is true. Never once, in all of these years, did anyone mention any of the other incidents that were reported recently — I am appalled to learn of these. I have come to realize my status wielded an atmosphere where such news did not reach me, or worse yet, that it seemed such news did not matter to me. It does. It matters tremendously.
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I am going to take time to reflect on this, to educate myself daily, and to strive towards a more enlightened path. I want to ensure that all voices around me are heard, and that everyone is treated respectfully and empathetically. More than anything, I want to create an environment that is a better, safer and fairer place."
Louis C.K. himself also issued a response to the allegations, saying "the stories are true."
Refinery29 has reached out to Becky for comment.
If you have experienced sexual violence and are in need of crisis support, please call the RAINN Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
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