The first of two New York City shows for Louis C.K.’s 2021 national tour was a sold-out evening unmarred by any crowd or protest controversy — a drastically different response to the disgraced comedian’s stage presence at one of his last major shows in the city several years ago.
The Aug. 13 show was a noticeably standard affair, with thousands of energized attendees buzzing as they made their way through various COVID, security and ticket lines at Madison Square Garden on their way to the Hulu Theater. Security also seemed relatively typical of most MSG events on Friday, despite previous protests against the comedian during an October 2018 performance at the Comedy Cellar. One extra security element was the Yonder pouches, in which attendees were asked to place their phones and other electronic devices, to prevent recordings of the performance.
The set featured three openers — Lynne Koplitz, Jaye McBride and Greer Barnes — whose brief appearances covered everything from gaining weight during the pandemic to anti-trans family members to the subtle racism in the scientific naming of bees. The comedians took the stage upwards of 30 minutes before C.K. appeared, walking on after a blackout to a standing ovation — which he was also given at the end of a show, though that one featured a smattering of guffaws from some attendees and definitive silence from others.
Though he never directly addressed his sexual misconduct allegations in the hour-long set — a pivot from his last set of Comedy Cellar appearances in which he opened one with a joke asking the audience “How was your year?” — elements of his show did seem to speak to it, both appropriately and inappropriately.
At one point, C.K. mused about the responsibility of recognizing when it’s your time to die, with grace, and at another point, discussed having a plan for life, making choices and it “going to shit” or, in the case where you get what you want, still not liking it. “So when life comes along and just goes ‘Fuck you,’… that’s when life gets interesting.”
Despite never quite saying anything outright — beyond the brightly towering “SORRY” sign that served as his backdrop for the entire show — the set seemingly featured both moments of total self-awareness about the cloud hanging over him and a complete lack thereof. The latter appeared most during the set’s sexualized jokes, which kicked off with the announcement of his favorite sex position before evolving into a semi-lengthy bit about pedophiles — including “every man’s fear” of being seen as a “kid fucker.” Other bits focused on young girl’s panties, having sex with younger women, the desirability of his penis and hopping in a male stranger’s van to perform sexual acts.
Beyond that, the set covered a number of more timely topics with varying degrees of empathy and maturity. Among a wide range of subjects like the Boy Scouts, grocery shopping in the pandemic, and 9/11, were jokes about last year’s social justice protests and efforts to defund the police, pandemic deaths and mask-wearing, fatphobia in medicine, as well a host of LGBTQ issues — including a bit towards the end in which he conflates (or confuses) fluid gender identity with fluid sexuality before dropping a slur. Stuffed between all of this was material around what his dog is thinking, growing grey hair and his least favorite scene in Good Will Hunting — which doubled as a meta-conversation about the act of stand-up.
C.K.’s return to the stage could best be summed up by one attendee’s comment as they exited the theater: “That’s going to piss off half of his fan base.” It also marks one in a series of attempted comebacks after numerous sexual misconduct allegations from at least five women that emerged in 2017, amid the early height of the #MeToo movement. The allegations, which included C.K. masturbating in front of several women and fellow comedians, resulted in him losing multiple TV and film deals after studios and networks, including FX Networks, Netflix and Universal Pictures, cut ties with him. C.K. admitted to the allegations, which were first published in The New York Times, in a statement, writing, “These stories are true.”
During the 53-year-old actor and comedian’s previous attempt at a comeback in New York during October 2018, at least one among a handful of performances at the Comedy Cellar was met with protestors, who held signs that both referenced C.K.’s behavior and shamed him, with statements like, “Does this sign make you uncomfortable, Louie?” That set followed a previous surprise appearance in August at the same venue, which C.K. frequented and even featured in his former FX show Louie. That performance was also met with social media backlash.
While no protestors or hecklers appeared during the first night of C.K.’s two-day New York City leg, there have been rumblings of either planned or potential protests in other cities, including Madison, Wisconsin, which saw the comedian perform across five nights towards the end of July. Those performances were not a part of his national tour, which C.K. announced on Aug. 4.