Comedy Club Owner Defends Decision Not To Ban Louis CK

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Comedy Cellar owner Norm Dworman defended his decision to not ban Louis CK from doing stand-up at the venue. CK returned to the stage in August for the first time since getting accused of sexual misconduct. It drew a divisive reaction at the time. CK came back for a second show at the same venue this past weekend. After the first appearance, Comedy Cellar has a new “swim at your own risk” policy and said they will pay for any patron that’s offended by a surprise guest.

The warning reads: “We never know who is going to pop in. If an unannounced appearance is not your cup of tea, you are free to leave (unobtrusively please) no questions asked, your check on the house.”

Dworman said: “I don’t know what else to do. I’ve thought about this from every angle, and have sought a lot of outside advice to try to guide me. The one complaint that I felt I didn’t have a good answer for, was customers who came who felt ambushed. One option was to put [C.K.] on the line-up, but for practical reasons that won’t work, so I decided the next thing to do was to have this policy and give customers notice. This is not the first time we’ve had someone who became controversial, but this is the most serious time. This is the kind of place where these people might show up. Comedy is that kind of world. Listen, we are really a free-expression outfit. People should not take me allowing them to perform as my approval of their character or the things they’ve done in their lives.“