Louis C.K. is capping off his 2018 with yet another controversy.
The comedian, who was fired from all of his Hollywood jobs last year after admitting to allegations of sexual misconduct, returned to stand-up comedy in August, and leaked audio from one of his recent sets has sparked outrage.
In it, C.K. performs a bit about people in their 20s, who he argues should be doing crazy things at their age but instead do nothing but say "you shouldn't say that" and "that's not appropriate." He adds that young people are "like royalty" because they "tell you what to call them." In a mocking voice, C.K. says, "You should address me as they/them because I identify as gender-neutral." C.K. dismissively reacts to this impression of a non-binary person with "Oh, okay" before sarcastically declaring he wants to be addressed as "there" because "I identify as a location."
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The comedian goes on to make fun of survivors of school shootings who testify before Congress, saying, "You're not interesting because you went to a high school where kids got shot. Why does that mean I have to listen to you? How does that make you interesting? You didn't get shot. You pushed some fat kid in the way and now I have to listen to you talking?" This transitions into a joke about how when kids die in school shootings, it's "no worse than anybody else dying."
This is just one small clip from a nearly hour-long set full of plenty more controversial material, and C.K. at one point makes clear that he has no problem inciting outrage because he feels he has nothing more to lose. "What are you going to take away, my birthday?" he asks. "My life is over. I don't give a s--t. You can be offended. It's okay."
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