Louis C.K.’s former manager Dave Becky issued an apology Monday for his role keeping the disgraced comedian’s sexual misconduct under wraps.
Becky’s lengthy statement comes days after a New York Times report that Louis C.K., one of Becky’s longtime clients, sexually harassed women by masturbating in front of them.
He offered an apology Monday for “not listening to and not understanding what happened” to the women who shared their stories with the Times and said he did not realize that Louis C.K.’s actions were non-consensual.
I am providing this context so that others do not make the same mistake I did. At that time, I heard the story third-hand, and I interpreted the conversation as two women telling a story about a sexual encounter with a then-married Louis. Albeit enormously embarrassing, in no way did I interpret the interaction as threatening or non-consensual. I misperceived the casual way the story was portrayed to me – instead I should have recognized that it must have been a mask for their unease and discomfort in the face of his detestable behavior. My intent was to seek discretion to protect what I thought was a matter of infidelity. I now comprehend that my response was perceived as a threat to cover-up sexual misconduct. This is not an excuse. What I did was wrong, and again, I am extremely sorry.
His apology centers around a 2002 incident first recounted by three of the Times’ sources: comedians Dana Min Goodman and Julia Wolov, who both accused Louis C.K. of masturbating in front of them during a 2002 comedy festival, and Lee Kernis, one of the women’s managers at the time. According to Kernis, after telling Becky that Louis C.K.’s behavior was offensive, Becky said he was upset Goodman and Wolov were speaking about it publicly.
That message reached Goodman and Wolov, who took it as a warning from one of the most powerful managers in the industry to keep mum, and they avoided any projects attached to Becky going forward.
While Becky told the Times that he “never threatened anyone,” he added in his apology Monday that he was “operating blindly from a one-sided place of privilege” that allowed him to overlook his client’s behavior and that this was the only example of Louis C.K.’s sexual misconduct that he was aware of.
“Although this may sound naïve, it is true,” he continued. “Never once, in all of these years, did anyone mention any of the other incidents that were reported recently ― I am appalled to learn of these. I have come to realize my status wielded an atmosphere where such news did not reach me, or worse yet, that it seemed such news did not matter to me. It does. It matters tremendously.”
Becky’s agency, 3 Arts Entertainment, announced they were dropping Louis C.K. as a client in the wake of the scandal.
The manager’s other high-profile clients, however, have not acknowledged the repercussions of his actions.
Last Friday, HuffPost reached out to the agents and publicists of about 20 people we believe to be Becky’s clients to find out if any were considering dropping Becky. The only response we received was from one publicist who told us that she had purposefully ignored our email when we called to follow up.
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