Nuance. It’s a hell of a drug.
Over the weekend, audio leaked from a set comprised of some material that non-consensual masturbatory icon and also comedian Louis CK was working out. The blow back online from what was heard was pretty instantaneous, and probably put Louis in an even deeper public relations grave. Then again, he pretty much says in the stuff that leaked that he doesn’t care anymore what people think of him. That’s most definitely one of the first things anyone who has tried to make strangers in a room laugh develops as a self defense mechanism, so that’s the most unsurprising thing of this whole sad affair.
The audio that leaked contained new bits on everything from transgender people to him opining on why he can’t say “retarded” anymore. Prose like this, below, reported by Slate.
But we started to feel shitty about it, so we changed it to intellectually challenged. What the fuck, it’s—don’t name the kid a thing he can’t say out loud. An intellectual challenge is can you translate Shakespeare into Latin and make it rhyme. These kids are not intellectually challenged, they’re intellectually fuckin’ done. They are! It’s not their sport! But we decided we didn’t want to call them retarded because we call each other that, so we went back to Nelson and we said, “Listen, Nelson, I have something to tell you. You’re not retarded anymore.” “You mean I’m cured?” “No, not at all. We just don’t call you that, ’cause it’s a terrible thing to call somebody.” “But you called me that with—” “Yes, but not anymore, because we shouldn’t.” And he’s trying to wrap his head around this, which is difficult for Nelson, ’cause he’s fucking retarded. (Slate)
Louis’ career has been marked by his unabashed willingness to “go there” and, at least to people listening and watching, give his unvarnished thoughts on topics. It’s what makes him so good to so many people. Anyone who is surprised by him diving right back into taboo topics with an un-PC point of view probably never paid much attention to him, or are seeing his entire comedic point of view in a different light after his admitting to being a creepy/pervy/sexually miconducty/career endy scumbag. Which is fine, but it really should not be shocking that Louis is willing to brazenly offend people.