rant · moment 1 of 11

Louis CK, Cancel Culture, and Careerist Comedians

from Always Be Capturing · #71

Audio-only archive episode — no video to seek.

17 min

A long rant defending the idea that Louis CK was always talented while condemning his actions, spiraling into an extended argument about cynical, unfunny comedy writers exploiting the #MeToo moment to level the playing field, name-checking Drew Magary's GQ piece, Megan Kester, and the comedy scene's toxic careerism, plus a tangent about a fake-dick prop bit at a Golden Girls sketch show and complaints about the camera angle and studio setup.

In this bit16 moments
  • 0:40Louis CK was never funny and is a hack.
  • 0:59The people now calling Louis CK unfunny weren't saying so before the scandal.
  • 1:56Grouping Louis CK with Weinstein and Spacey mischaracterizes the severity of different acts.
  • 3:19Why do we use one word to describe rape, pedophilia, and exhibitionism?
  • 4:01Unfunny comedians are using the Louis CK scandal to eliminate competition and lower comedy standards.
  • 4:57These careerists don't care about victims—they're exploiting the moment to level the playing field.
  • 5:22Tim performed as Louis CK at a Brooklyn show, making a joke about consent on the Golden Girls.
  • 7:11Drew McGarry's GQ article about comedy men being bad is garbage and came out only after it was safe.
  • 7:49Careerists use cynical takes and social consensus to get ahead rather than working to be funny.
  • 9:15The strategy is to lower the threshold of what counts as funny so mediocre people can participate.
  • 10:25These angry people making hundreds of thousands writing for shows feel excluded despite success.
  • 11:55Critics calling things offensive humor are using a straw man argument about PC culture.
  • 12:44Complaints about comedy standards never come from killers, only from people who aren't funny.
  • 13:23Late-night shows aren't funny—Tim hasn't enjoyed a network late-night show in years.
  • 13:55Tim got into comedy to do podcasts with friends, not to wear suits and go to the Emmys.
  • 15:03Listeners complaining about camera angles on a free podcast are absurd.
Mentioned here

Louis C.K.Drew McGarrycomedyHarvey WeinsteinLewis GómezMegan KesterJohn OliverKevin SpaceyJames Corden

All 11 moments in this episode →