Howard Stern talked with Louis CK about Bill Cosby when the comedian stopped by his studio recently. Louis CK admitted that, like many people, he was a huge Cosby fan.
“I loved Bill Cosby when I was a kid. I saw him in Montreal a few years ago, do a concert and I was blown away. It was maybe the best standup concert I had ever seen. I listened to his albums when I was a kid, so it was like a listening thing. He has a huge catalog of albums, and I listened to all of them.”
But Howard Stern had to ask about the rape allegations against Cosby. Louis CK’s response was also representative of many people.
“I didn’t believe it for a long time. And there is some weird formula there to ask yourself about. Like, ‘How many does it take?’”
As Howard Stern observed, there is an awkwardness to talking about Cosby’s work now. Louis CK agreed.
“It’s a really weird thing, because now what do you say about him? His comedy is what it was still, and he is still the influence that he was, but it’s erased now. Like, if there’s ever any montages of American television, we’re all gonna pretend he didn’t do these things. It’s hard to [enjoy his comedy now]. I gotta be honest with you, it’s hard to. I don’t know how to feel about all of it. It’s a really complicated thing.”
Howard Stern cracks on Bill Cosby a lot, joking that it’s like a weekly weather report, finding out who has come forward with allegations against Cosby this week. And Louis CK talked about when he finally gave in and started to believe that Cosby was guilty.
“For me, I think everybody had some point where they went, ‘Fuck, I can’t do this now.’ For me, I saw an interview with a woman who was a writer, she was a comedy writer, and I identify with that. She was a normal-looking, average-looking comedy writer who got caught up in this thing. I got her, because I’m like her. And also, I’ve been kind of a half-homely, normal guy amongst stars. That’s what being a comedy writer is. When I saw her story I was like, ‘Oh, fuck. He did all of it. Now I know he did all of it, because I believe her so much.’ And after that, yeah, it’s really hard to [listen to his stuff.]”