Comedian-actor Sarah Silverman broke her silence on allegations against longtime friend Louis C.K.'s sexual misconduct in a moving monologue before the latest episode of her Hulu talk show, I Love You, America.
"This recent calling out of sexual assault has been a long time coming. It' good. It's like cutting out tumours: it's messy, and it's complicated, and it is going to hurt, but it's necessary and we'll all be healthier for it. And it sucks. And some of our heroes will be taken down and we will discover bad things about people we like, or in some cases, people we love," Silverman said.
"And it s**** and some of our heroes will be taken down, and we will discover bad things about people we like, or in some cases, people we love. Let's just say it: I'm talking about Louis," she added.
C.K. and Silverman's friendship has spanned more than 25 years, with the latter playing a fictionalised version of herself on the former's FX series, Louie.
Silverman was clearly emotional as she spoke, appearing to fight back tears multiple times as she went on to describe C.K.'s behaviour.
"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****d up ways, sometimes to the point where they left comedy entirely. I could couch this with heartwarming stories of our friendship and what a great dad he is, but that's totally irrelevant, isn't it?
"Yes, it is. It's a real mindf***, because I love Louis. But Louis did these things. Both of those statements are true. So I just keep asking myself, 'Can you love someone who did bad things? Can you still love them?' I can mull that over later certainly, because the only people that matter right now are the victims," she said.
The New York Times published a piece last week alleging that C.K. had repeatedly asked women he encountered in work-related environments to watch him masturbate.
"These stories are true," C.K. said in a statement after the story was released.
