About a month ago, Louis C.K. performed a surprise set at the Comedy Cellar, a staple of the stand-up scene in New York City. While plenty of other area clubs later expressed their willingness to book C.K. for future performances, a debate raged about whether now was the time for the once-celebrated comic (and others like him) to mount a potential comeback. After all, less than a year had passed since the New York Times published accusations of sexual assault against C.K, all of which he later admitted were true.
Enter Ted Alexandro, a veteran of the New York comedy scene who, early on in its initial run, once camoed on C.K.’s popular FX series Louie. In a Comedy Cellar set from September 1st, the same week as C.K.’s controversial set at the same venue, Alexandro began his time on stage with a blistering five-minute bit about Bill Cosby, the #MeToo movement and the institutions that had attempted to (and were still attempting to) buffer male comedy legends from scrutiny.
This included C.K. and the Cellar, the very club Alexandro was performing in:
“Thanks, guys, for almost clapping until I made it to the stage. What, does a guy have to be convicted of sexual assault to get a standing ovation? What do I have to do up here? Do I have to take my dick out? What do I have to do for you to cheer my arrival at the stage? Ask yourselves that. You know where you are!”
Alexandro continued riffing about C.K. in a scene that, as New York Times critic Jason Zinoman rightly points out, spent as much time targeting the aforementioned comedian as the very Cellar audience and staff members who were listening. He also spoke at length about Cosby, who earlier this week was sentenced to 3 to 10 years in prison for sexually assaulting Andrea Constand.
It’s solid set from a celebrated local comedian and all six minutes of it is worth your time. And even if you’re not familiar with Alexandro’s material, including Senior Class of Earth, his upcoming third hour-long comedy special, the above clip is a pretty good preview of the kind of jokes he likes to tell… and the people and institutions he prefers to target.
