Michael Che at Bell House
Michael Che at Bell House in 2016 (photo by David Andrako)

Michael Che on Louis CK: "any free person has a right to speak and make a living"

Michael Che, who opened one of Aziz Ansari’s post-allegations shows, has also publicly defended Louis CK‘s return to standup comedy less than a year after CK admitted to masturbating in front of female associates without consent. Daily Beast points to a tweet by culture writer Sopan Deb with screenshots of Che’s Instagram stories, which read:

What’s interesting to me about these articles against Louis CK performing again, is how important fame is to people. A lot of what I read says that CK shouldn’t get to be a “famous” comedian anymore. Because to them, he’s still winning. Isn’t that strange? Meaning, he can be shamed, humiliated, lose millions of dollars, lose all of his projects, lose the respect of a lot of his fans and peers, and whatever else that comes with what he did, but since he can still do a comedy set for free at [a] 200 seat club a year later, it means he got off easy. THAT’S how coveted fame is.

Daily Beast also points out that Che responded to someone asking him what he thinks CK “deserves,” saying, “Man, I don’t really know. I haven’t talked to him in a while. I don’t know any of his accusers. I don’t know what he’s done to right that situation, and it’s none of my business. But I do believe any free person has a right to speak and make a living.”

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