Laughter ends as Louis CK admits to sexual misconduct

Yesterday, after years of rumours, five women came forward, claiming that Louis C.K., whose jokes have often centered on his sexual misfortunes, pressured them to watch or listen to him masturbate.

Now, the 50-year-old US comedian has confirmed the allegations in a lengthy statement and expressed "remorse" for taking advantage of his status as a "widely admired" comic, Entertainment Weekly reported.

"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," the 'Louie' star, adding, "These stories are true."

"At the time, I said to myself that what I did was okay because I never showed a woman my dick without asking first, which is also true. But what I learned later in life, too late, is that when you have power over another person, asking them to look at your dick 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 added.

C.K. added that he is "remorseful" and has "tried to learn" from his irresponsible behaviour.

He continued, "I have been remorseful of my actions. And I've tried to learn from them. And run from them. Now I'm aware of the extent of the impact of my actions. I learned yesterday the extent to which I left these women who admired me feeling badly about themselves and cautious around other men who would never have put them in that position."

The under-fire U.S. comic went on to state, "There is nothing about this that I forgive myself for. And I have to reconcile it with who I am. Which is nothing compared to the task I left them with ... The hardest regret to live with is what you've done to hurt someone else."

He also apologized to the FX network, The Orchard production studio, and the cast and crew of his film, 'I Love You, Daddy.' Written and directed by C.K., the movie's release has been put on hold.

Since The New York Times expose, the comedian's business partners have issued statements distancing themselves from him.

HBO announced on Thursday that C.K. will not be appearing in the upcoming 'Night of Too Many Stars: America Unites for Autism Programs.'

In a statement, FX had said that they are "very troubled" by the allegations against the comedian, who is the executive producer on several shows for the netwok, including 'Better Things,' 'Baskets' and 'Louie.'

Additionally, Netflix had announced it would not produce another stand up special with the comedian.

"I've brought pain to my family, my friends, my children and their mother," C.K. further wrote. "I have spent my long and lucky career talking and saying anything I want. I will now step back and take a long time to listen."

Last year, C.K. had denied industry whispers of misconduct in an interview, saying, "They're rumours, that's all that is.