Leslie Jones was so upset that The Comedy Cellar allowed Louis C.K. to perform there just nine months after he admitted to sexually harassing younger female comics that she the boycotted New York comedy institution.
The former “Saturday Night Live” star Jones told the New York Times in an interview published Thursday that she spoke to the Cellar’s management to express her disappointment, but noted her decision to stay away was a personal decision. “I knew girls, and they got to walk into the club and see him talking to the owner. That ain’t cool,” she said.
For months, she performed instead at The Comic Strip. “They took his picture down,” Jones told the Times about The Comic Strip. “Mine’s up.”
Jones told the Times she eventually resumed appearances at the Cellar, but suggested she’s willing to take similar stances in the future. “I am at the age when I will get off the boat and get on another damn boat,” she said.
In 2017, C.K. admitted to forcing younger female comics to watch him masturbate, confirming years of rumors. At the time he said in a statement he was stepping back from his career to “listen” and learn. However, he began taking the stage at The Comedy Cellar the following summer.
His appearances sparked widespread criticism, along with some protests and walkouts, but major names in comedy largely remained silent about it.
Read the whole interview here.