On the heels of Samantha Bee’s Full Frontal comments about the sexual assault allegations against Louis C.K., friend and frequent collaborator Sarah Silverman will do the same on her Hulu series. In the opening monologue from the sixth episode of I Love You, America, which will appear later today on Hulu, the comedian wondered aloud to her audience, “Can you love someone who did bad things?” According to several quotes obtained by the New York Times following an advanced viewing, Silverman seems to suggest you can — albeit with great difficulty.
According to the New York Times, the host said the increasing frequency of the “calling-out of sexual assault has been a long time coming,” adding: “It’s good.” What’s more, she continued, “It’s like cutting out tumors: it’s messy and it’s complicated and it is going to hurt. But it’s necessary and we’ll all be healthier for it.” Even so, Silverman — who appeared in three episode’s of C.K.’s acclaimed FX series Louie in 2012 and 2014 — noted that “some of our heroes will be taken down, and we will discover bad things about people we like, or in some cases, people we love.”
“I love Louis, but Louis did these things. Both of those statements are true. So, I just keep asking myself, can you love someone who did bad things? Can you still love them? I can mull that over later, certainly, because the only people that matter right now are the victims. They are victims, and they’re victims because of something he did,” Silverman said toward the end of her address. “I hope it’s okay if I am at once very angry for the women he wronged and the culture that enabled it. And also sad, because he’s my friend. But I believe with all my heart that this moment in time is essential. It’s vital that people are held accountable for their actions, no matter who they are. We need to be better. We will be better.”
Fellow comics and C.K. friends Jon Stewart and Marc Maron, the latter another Louie participant, have also spoken out about the recent revelations. While both admitted to having known about only one instance of sexual misconduct, however, Silverman didn’t acknowledge whether or not she knew anything — either about the many accusations levied against C.K., or the one specifically claimed by her older sister the day before the Times‘ original story broke. In a tweet, Laura Silverman claimed he masturbated in front of her during a “cross-country trip… [a]bout 20 times.” Laura, who dated C.K. previously, said it was “[n]ot criminal,” but did say it was “compulsive, rude & gross.”
(Via New York Times)
