Latest news with #Ridiculous
New York Post
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Louis C.K. to headline New York Comedy Festival 8 years after sexual misconduct allegations
Can you call it a comeback? Comedian Louis C.K. is set to headline two nights of the New York Comedy Festival later this year – marking one of his first high-profile stand-up acts since being accused of sexual misconduct by five women back in 2017. Caroline Hirsch, the founder and owner of the New York Comedy Festival, announced the news in a statement on Monday, July 14. 7 Louis C.K. during the 10th Annual U.S. Comedy Arts Festival at the St. Regis Hotel in Aspen, Colorado. FilmMagic, Inc 7 Louis C.K. attends a boxing match at Radio City Music Hall in April 2013. Anthony J. Causi 'We're thrilled to unveil this year's incredible lineup – a dynamic mix of global headliners and rising voices that reflect where comedy is right now and where it's headed,' she told The Post. 'We're proud to continue to bring New York City the very best of the best.' 'In a constantly shifting landscape, we stay committed to spotlighting new voices, championing fresh perspectives, breaking form, and shaping a festival that sets the standard both creatively and commercially,' Hirsch added. C.K. is scheduled to perform his newest comedy special, 'Ridiculous,' at the Beacon Theater on Nov. 14 and 15 as part of the annual festival. 7 Louis C.K. arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party in Beverly Hills in February 2016. Evan Agostini/Invision/AP Other headliners include Margaret Cho, Hannah Berner, Pete Holmes, Morgan Jay, Ryan Long, Trevor Wallace and Michael Blackson. 'Strangers With Candy' creators Amy Sedaris, Stephen Colbert and Paul Dinello will also host a reunion to mark the 25th anniversary of the sitcom's cancellation. The news that C.K. will headline two nights of the upcoming comedy festival comes nearly eight years after five women accused the 'Louis' creator of sexual misconduct in a bombshell New York Times exposé. 7 Louis C.K. performs at the Beacon Theatre on October 13, 2012, in New York City. WireImage The women claimed that the comedian exposed himself and masturbated in front of them without their consent, and C.K. later admitted to the allegations and issued a lengthy apology. 'These stories are true,' the comedian began. 'At the time, I said to myself that what I did was okay because I never showed a woman my d–k without asking first, which is also true.' 'The power I had over these women is that they admired me,' C.K. added. 'And I wielded that power irresponsibly.' 7 Louis C.K. participates in the 'Better Things' panel during the FX Television Critics Association summer press tour at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills in August 2017. Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP FX, Netflix, Showtime and HBO quickly cut ties with C.K., and he joked in 2019 that he lost an estimated $35 million in income due to the scandal. However, despite his sudden fall from grace, the canceled comedian later returned to the spotlight to win a Grammy in 2022 for his 'Sincerely Louis C.K.' album. The 'American Hustle' star's award brought backlash, and one of his accusers spoke out after the surprising win. 7 Louis CK attends the 'Louis CK: Hilarious' premiere during the 2010 Sundance Film Festival at Library Center Theatre on January 26, 2010, in Park City, Utah. Getty Images 7 Julia Wolov arrives at the premiere of 'The Ridiculous 6' held at AMC Universal City Walk Stadium 18. Corbis via Getty Images 'Wouldn't it be nice if people would not be rewarded for bad behavior?' actress Julia Wolov, who was named in the exposé about C.K., said at the time. 'But what are you supposed to do?' 'These people voted for him. I guess that's what happens when comedy and music come together,' she added. 'I don't believe in cancel culture, but obviously, Louis is not canceled. He seems fine to me. He's touring. He's selling out. He's winning Grammys.' C.K. later returned to the stand-up circuit, too. He announced an international 2025-2026 tour, called the 'Ridiculous Tour', earlier this year. The Post has reached out to the New York Comedy Festival's organizers for comment.
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'Soccer Aid gets bigger and better, and one change this year needs to stay'
Over on ITV1 last night Dermot O'Leary was at Old Trafford in Manchester, giving us an update on the state of play. "It's a Sunday night in June when the football season is over," Dermot explained. "What else are we gonna do?" Well Dermot, for any fans looking for a bonus football fix the options were fairly clear. We could fall in with FIFA's latest money-making scheme and watch the likes of mighty Bayern Munich stick ten goals past a bunch of postmen from New Zealand in the World Club Cup. Or we could tune into Soccer Aid, ITV and UNICEF's very own annual money-making scheme, where you could see a bunch of celebrities and YouTubers being put in their place by seasoned ex-pros, and enjoy the "no reachy, no savey" spectacle of Take Me Out's Paddy McGuinness trying to stop a trickler from TV chef Big Zuu sneaking in at his near post. For me it was always going to be the latter. It's a much more satisfying viewing experience. Plus, it's all for a good cause. By the way, is it just me or does Soccer Aid seem to be growing bigger every year? This year it was all across the ITV schedules, from piddling afternoon quizzes such as Ridiculous to prime time monsters such as The 1% Club. It was almost as if ITV had sensed a gap in the market following the recent fall off in interest in the BBC's Children In Need and assorted Relief efforts, and decided to have a shot at gaining some charity ground. Soccer Aid even had its own sporty documentary this year: the tale of Sam Thompson's fund-raising journey to deliver the match ball in time for the big match's kick-off. I'm not necessarily against such rampant expansion. Obviously, we must throw in the usual caveats. Can charities really be trusted with our money? And why should we donate our hard-earned cash when the millionaire celebrities and multimillionaire footballers asking us to do so could achieve similar results with their loose change? The simple truth is Soccer Aid usually offers us laughter and entertainment — and quite a few of the themed programmes were good fun too. Special mention to The 1% Club and to Alex Brooker on Deal Or No Deal. On the night itself, I knew I'd made the right choice when at 6.20pm on a Sunday evening, ITV took the rather brave decision to give Tyson Fury full control of the microphone to deliver a motivational speech to the England team. One "We're England! We're f***ing Spartans!" and several profuse apologies later, I think we could all agree we had just been reminded of the joys of live TV. It didn't stop there either. Just before half-time, with England 2-0 up against the World XI and coasting, ITV decided it would probably be fine to go to Fury again. Of course, you couldn't help but feel moved by the genuine fear and anguish in Alex Scott's face and voice as she said "Once again, I do apologise for Tyson's swearing." There was a little bit of "serves you right" in there from us as well though. The funniest thing about it all was that in the rush to apologise for Fury's behaviour, no one appeared to notice that Harry Redknapp has dropped an F-bomb of his own. The match itself was entertaining enough on its own. After a quiet first half, it burst into life in the second 45 minutes thanks mainly to the introduction of Carlos Tevez and Leonardo Bonucci. If we were being kind, we might say the pair are only recently retired from the professional game and that perhaps explains why they took the match so seriously. If we were being honest, we'd say book a couple of legendary s***housers and you'll get what you pay for. Tevez in particular was a revelation. Not only did he score four goals to give the World XI the edge, he also incurred a yellow card for a blatant foul on fellow ex-pro Aaron Lennon, almost had a scrap with YouTuber Angry Ginge (grown-up name Morgan), and played the crowd like a panto villain throughout. As for Italian enforcer Bonucci, I guess his tackle on England's Steph Houghton finally offered an answer to a question I first posed after the 2018 match: "How come there are no women playing in Soccer Aid?" In Bonucci's defence, he did get the ball and, thanks to Houghton's awkward landing, the tackle actually looked a lot worse than it was. Of course, ITV will still need to consider the ramifications of that incident ahead of next year's match. At the end of the day, it's meant to be a bit of fun. Speaking of next year, I'm fully expecting co-commentator Jason Manford's loan move to be made permanent. I'm not sure why Iain "What's forty quid?" Stirling decided to take a break this year, but Manford is clearly a better fit for this job. It was like listening to someone you might sit next to at a real match. Manford also made me believe that with the right partner in the commentary box Sam Matterface could also one day be reasonably bearable on ITV's proper matches. Unfortunately, Manford almost let the side down near the end of the match when he said something smutty that, to be fair, was probably going through a lot of people's dirty minds at the time. Talking about mobile phones, Matterface said to the viewers, "I know you've got it in your hand and you're playing with it now." "You mean the phone?", Manford said. "Just checking." Jason, mate. Some open goals are best left well alone. Soccer Aid streams on ITVX.
