Comedian Louis C.K. is set to release a new stand-up special on Netflix on June 30, nearly eight years after admitting to sexual misconduct allegations that pushed him out of Hollywood’s mainstream. The special, titled Ridiculous, is his first project distributed by a major media company since 2017.
After five women accused him of inappropriate sexual behavior, C.K. acknowledged some of the conduct and apologized, saying at the time that he had initially thought his behavior was acceptable, but later understood there was a power imbalance and that he had acted irresponsibly. Following the scandal, Netflix, FX and HBO stopped working with him, a film starring him was shelved, and his personal management dropped him. He became one of the first major entertainment figures associated with the #MeToo backlash.
In the years that followed, C.K. released four specials independently and largely disappeared from public view. Over the past year, however, he has returned to performing in sold-out clubs and theaters, including surprise shows that drew both applause and criticism online. Netflix said in a trailer released Tuesday that the special includes material about C.K. and his sisters putting their elderly father into a nursing home, with the comic joking, “We put him in a home,” and adding that he was too old to stop them and too weak to resist being forced into it.
C.K. has been workshopping the new material for about a year, and recently performed it at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles as part of Netflix’s Is a Joke festival. In 2020, he self-released Sincerely Louis C.K. on his website, opening that special with direct reference to the scandal. He also self-released several more specials afterward, and in 2022 he performed in Israel for the third time.
