Sarah Silverman is still coming to terms with accusations of sexual misconduct against her close friend, comedian Louis C.K.
Sarah Silverman is still coming to terms with accusations of sexual misconduct against her close friend, comedian Louis C.K.
Silverman addressed "the elephant masturbating in the room" in a monologue on her Hulu show, I Love You, America, after multiple women went on the record to accuse C.K. of either asking to masturbate in front of them, or masturbating in front of them without their consent. Silverman was visibly emotional in the deeply personal monologue, acknowledging that C.K. has been a close friend of hers for over two decades.
"Let's just say it, I'm talking about Louis," Silverman said bluntly when discussing the sexual harassment scandals currently rocking the entertainment industry. "And in full disclosure, I'm still processing all of this s**t. One of my best friends of over 25 years, Louis C.K., masturbated in front of women. He wielded his power with women in f**ked-up ways. Sometimes to the point where they left comedy entirely."
"I can couch this with heartwarming stories of our friendship and what a great dad he is, but that's totally irrelevant isn't it?" she continued. "Yes. It is. It's a real mindf**k."
Silverman admitted she feels conflicted over the situation, given her personal connection to C.K.
"I love Louis. But Louis did these things. Both of those statements are true," she said. "So, I just keep asking myself, 'Can you love someone who did bad things? Can you still love them?'"
Still, the comedian stressed that she is firmly on the side of the victims.
"The only people that matter right now are the victims," Silverman said. "They are vicims, and they're victims because of something he did."
"So, I hope it’s OK 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," she continued. "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. I can’t f**king wait to be better."
Last week, C.K. addressed the sexual misconduct allegations against him in a lengthy statement, and said the stories were "true."
"The hardest regret to live with is what you've done to hurt someone else," C.K. said in the statement. "And I can hardly wrap my head around the scope of hurt I brought on them."
On Tuesday, C.K.'s good friend, Jon Stewart, also reacted to the scandal during his appearance on the Today show.
"You feel anger at what he did to people," Stewart acknowledged.
Watch below: