A new trailer for a documentary highlighting the pattern of sexual abuse perpetrated by comedian Louis C.K. addresses the consequences of serial sexual misconduct in a post #MeToo culture.
"Sorry/Not Sorry,” which debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival last year, drags out the men — Joe Rogan, Neal Brennan and several other peers — who downplayed C.K.’s victims, made excuses for the comedian, or rejected accusations outright. It also dives into C.K.’s rehabilitation, and his Grammy-award-winning special, asking viewers to examine how the comedian was effectively able to profit off allegations of severe misconduct against him, even after admitting to inappropriate behavior.
But the documentary isn’t just about the perpetrator, or the culture of apology in our media landscape, as the trailer clues. C.K.’s victims are given screen time via new interviews, details from the journalists who broke the story, and input from fellow comedians.
Opening with a clip featuring the disgraced comedian — accused in 2017 of masturbating without consent in front of numerous women — he's shown speaking to Charlie Rose — himself accused of misconduct — who compares C.K. to figures like Lenny Bruce, Bob Dylan, and “philosopher kings.” Here, viewers are reminded that C.K.’s legacy is not as damaged as he’d suggest.
But throughout the project, the testimony of women who had their careers stalled, and who watched as a man who harassed them clung to a prolific career, shines through. Per an interview with the Daily Beast, filmmaker Caroline Suh — who directed "Sorry/Not Sorry" alongside Cara Mones — wanted to highlight the story of the victims, not just the perpetrator.
“What was really so surprising [in making the film] was learning how hard it is to redirect one’s focus from worrying about the men—why Louis did what he did and what happened to him—to asking why it took so long for anyone to care,” Suh told the Daily Beast. “And most importantly, why we don’t really take much time to think about why women get so much punishment for just saying what happened.”
C.K. takes up, like many abusers, the majority of the conversation surrounding his actions. Defenders argue that men like him have had too much of their career taken away, often failing to focus on victims. Last month, fellow comedian Bill Maher amplified these sentiments, saying on an episode of his podcast with Bill Burr that he hoped C.K. would be “welcome[d] back” after he was “canceled.”
"People have done so much worse things and gotten less," Maher said. "There’s no rhyme or reason to the #MeToo-type punishments."
Watch the trailer for ‘Sorry/Not Sorry’ here ahead of its July 12 release.
