Louis C.K tells Israeli audience 'I'd rather be in Auschwitz than New York City' during his international comeback tour
- Comedian Louis C.K. told a Holocaust joke to an audience in Tel Aviv, Israel during his international tour
- He also addressed his sexual misconduct during the set, acknowledging his role in the incidents
- C.K. has been greeted with both applause and protests during his shows in Israel
- Protesters say people going to C.K.'s shows are 'normalizing sexual violence'
- His supporters don't believe his past actions are enough to permanently boycott the comedian or his work
Shamed comedian Louis C.K.'s comeback tour now includes telling a Holocaust joke to an Israeli audience in Tel Aviv.
'I'd rather be in Auschwitz than New York City,' C.K. said to an almost entirely Israeli audience, who broke out into thunderous laughter and applause.
'I mean now, not when it was open,' C.K., whose paternal grandfather is Jewish, continued.
Comedian Louis C.K. told an audience in Tel Aviv, Israel, 'I'd rather be in Auschwitz than New York City'
This is one of many jokes C.K. Lewis made on Thanksgiving night that heralded back to his unrestrained comedic style that catapulted his raunchy candor into the public spotlight before it came crashing down in 2017.
Although he didn't go into details about his new distaste for New York City, it may be in response to the waves of negative attention he received after admitting to masturbating in front of women.
The bombshell reports revealed that the women involved feared their careers would end if they discussed the more than a decade old incidents.
Pictured: Nearly 5,000 men and women in Tel Aviv, Israel, lined up outside an area to see C.K.'s comedy show on Thanksgiving
This saw the #MeToo Era implosion for C.K.'s several TV contracts and the dismissal of his feature-length film I Love You, Daddy.
Currently, C.K. is on a quest to revitalize his brand as he continues his international comedy tour that will see him to Slovakia on Saturday and Hungary next week.
He will also be making stops in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Orleans, Houston and Alabama.
In Tel Aviv, both the public dismissal and welcome of C.K. as he plays to sold out shows is a testament to how audiences are grappling with the idea of forgiveness in the age of cancel culture.
Pictured: residents in Tel Aviv walk past a billboard of Louis C.K. before his show on Thursday
On one hand, protesters have lined outside the 52-year-old's shows to further criticize his career, including a local women's advocacy group named Kulan who appeared at his first show in Tel Aviv.
Bracha Barad, the group's director, said those attending C.K.'s sows are 'normalizing sexual violence.'
'They are basically telling him everything is OK, you're not going to pay a price for this and you will be given a stage,' she told a local news station.
Tel Aviv protesters say people buying tickets to C.K.'s (pictured) shows is 'normalizing sexual violence'
Others seemed to have already moved on from the scandal, while some were unsure of what C.K. did wrong or were aware of the incidents' details.
One man murmured, 'Twitter is fragile. Feminists.'
Most of the nearly 5,000 men and women who attended C.K.'s show didn't think his actions fully justified his public condemnation.
Asaf, who came to the show with his wife, Tal, said: 'We don't support what he did to those women, but we like him as a comedian. It's not like he raped someone.'
'It's like a little bit complicated,' Tal said.
She noted that C.K. had allegedly asked permission before masturbating in front of the woman and said it shouldn't hinder the career of a 'genius.'
Tal did, however, acknowledge the wide-reaching lengths of C.K.'s sexual misconduct.
She decided buying tickets to see C.K. was 'like supporting animal rights and still eating meat.'
During his set, C.K. spoke about the sexual misconduct, saying that although he asked permission before masturbating in front of the women, he should not have done it.
'If they say 'yes,' then still don't do it, because it's not popular.'
In regards to his sexual misconduct scandal from 2017, C.K. said, 'If they say 'yes,' then still don't do it, because it's not popular'
He also touched on the history of using the term 'retarded' along with passing references to the Boston Marathon bombing and the September 11 attacks.
C.K. omitted a controversial bit when he made fun of school shooting survivors who've become gun control activists that outraged audiences.
Instead, he turned the attention to his past behavior and shined a self-reflective light on his misconduct.
He observed that women sometimes act as though everything is alright when they are fearful – and that men often mistake this for consent.
He likened it to hearing African-American slave spirituals and believing they express contentment.
These moments of acknowledgment mixed in with instances of self-awareness seemed to be just what the audience needed to hear to grant a full pardon.
'It was just hilarious,' Shiri Ayalon said as she left the arena.
'As a woman who's been very aware of everything that has happened over the #MeToo movement and all of that, I'd say that he's probably the only celebrity who's expressed regret over what he had done and was willing to actually address it.'
'I think he should probably be un-boycotted.'
Most watched News videos
- Gideon Falter on Met Police chief: 'I think he needs to resign'
- Trump lawyer Alina Habba goes off over $175m fraud bond
- Shocking moment thug on bike snatches pedestrian's phone
- Shocking moment passengers throw punches in Turkey airplane brawl
- Shocking moment balaclava clad thief snatches phone in London
- Moment fire breaks out 'on Russian warship in Crimea'
- Shocking moment man hurls racist abuse at group of women in Romford
- Mother attempts to pay with savings account card which got declined
- China hit by floods after violent storms battered the country
- Shocking footage shows men brawling with machetes on London road
- Machete wielding thug brazenly cycles outside London DLR station
- Russian soldiers catch 'Ukrainian spy' on motorbike near airbase
