Being a Female Comic in Louis C.K.’s World
“I just won’t try to get a spot at that club tonight — he’s there.”
“I just won’t perform at that club ever — he runs it.”
“I just won’t get on that TV show — he books it.”
For me, all of those “I just won’ts” now look like a lifetime of “I didn’ts.” So many missed opportunities.
But I’d say almost every female comic could name a comedy club she can’t walk into, a booker
she can’t email or an agent she can’t pursue because of the presence of a problematic guy.
We exchanged cordial hellos backstage and I remember thinking, “I hope it’s a misunderstanding, I hope you’re not that guy people say you are.”
Standup comedy is hard on its women.
You get that performing time in at open mics, where you have to line up during the day for a spot
that night, at open mics that run until 1 or 2 a.m., at shows where you have to talk two, or 10, friends into coming just so that you can have a chance to perform.
But were there a couple of great female writers who didn’t even try to get a job on
that show because they’d heard weird stuff about the guy who did the hiring?
