Louis C.K. Admits Sexual Misconduct

WEST VILLAGE, NY — Comedian Louis C.K. admitted Friday that he sexually abused women, a day after a New York Times article quoted his victims describing how he masturbated in front of them.

“I want to address the stories told to the New York Times by five women named Abby, Rebecca, Dana, Julia who felt able to name themselves and one who did not,” C.K. wrote in a statement. “These stories are true.”

Rumors about the high-profile comedian have circulated for years before the Times published accounts from the five women who said C.K. acted improperly in front of them. After the Times article was public, the distributor of C.K.'s forthcoming movie, "I Love You, Daddy," promptly canceled its release.

Dana Min Goodman and Julia Wolov told the Times that in 2002, when they were an up-and-coming comedy duo, C.K. invited them both back to his hotel room after the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, Colorado.

According to the Times report:

As soon as they sat down in his room, still wrapped in their winter jackets and hats, Louis C.K. asked if he could take out his penis, the women said

They thought it was a joke and laughed it off. “And then he really did it,” Ms. Goodman said in an interview with The New York Times. “He proceeded to take all of his clothes off, and get completely naked, and started masturbating.”

C.K. confirmed these women's accounts, and reports from others who spoke with the Times, in a statement on Friday.

"At the time, I said to myself that what I did was okay because I never showed a woman my d--- without asking first, which is also true," he wrote. "But what I learned later in life, too late, is that when you have power over another person, asking them to look at your d--- isn’t a question. It’s a predicament for them. The power I had over these women is that they admired me. And I wielded that power irresponsibly."

He wrote that he would "step back and take a long time to listen" in the wake of the allegations.

The allegations against C.K. come amid a national conversation about sexual harassment and assault, which began last month when the New York Times and the New Yorker published explosive reports detailing numerous accusations against the powerful Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein. Since then, women and men have accused numerous powerful men in the entertainment and media worlds of sexual misconduct.

Prior to the Times report, C.K. had repeatedly denied any accusations of acting improperly with woman.

"They’re rumors, that’s all that is," C.K. told the Times just two months ago.

Watch: Louis C.K. faced with five sexual misconduct allegations

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