Film distribution company The Orchard has announced they will no longer be releasing Louis C.K.’s film, ‘I Love You, Daddy’, in the wake of sexual harassment accusations that have been levelled against him.
On Friday (10 November), The Orchard confirmed that the film would no longer be getting a cinematic release, having initially been slated to hit cinemas in the US next week.
Hours before five women’s allegations against the comedian were published in the New York Times, the film’s New York premiere was cancelled at the last minute.
‘I Love You, Daddy’, was written and directed by Louis C.K., and saw the American comic playing Glen Topher, a successful comedy writer, and was said to be heavily influenced by the works of Woody Allen.
The film saw Chloe Grace Moretz starring as the lead character’s 17-year-old daughter, who wound up in a romantic relationship with a much older filmmaker, played by John Malkovich.
Two women, the comedy duo Dana Min Goodman and Julia Wolov, told the New York Times of an alleged encounter that took place in 2002, involving him “getting completely naked” and masturbating in front of them.
Another woman, Abby Schachner, said she could hear Louis C.K. masturbating while she was on the phone with him in 2003. The call, she said, quickly became “unprofessional and inappropriate.”
Comedian Rebecca Corry told the Times that Louis C.K. asked her if he could masturbate in front of her in 2005, while the two were appearing on a television pilot together.
A fifth anonymous woman said that she was working in the 1990s on ‘The Chris Rock Show’, on which the comedian was a writer, claiming he asked to masturbate in front of her on numerous occasions.
She did what he asked but questioned the behavior, telling the Times, “It was something that I knew was wrong.
“I think the big piece of why I said yes was because of the culture… He abused his power.”
Louis C.K. has yet to publicly respond to the New York Times’ report, and has dismissed similar rumours of sexual misconduct, refusing to comment further.