Louis CK's history of 'sexual misconduct' is out of whisper network

The buzz about Louis C.K.'s sexual misconduct has been the thing of legend - that is, until now.

For years, rumours surrounding the 50-year-old actor and his behaviour toward women have circulated through the entertainment industry, but now, the New York Times got five women on the record about his sexual misconduct in an expose.

The report, which came out just hours after the premiere for the comedian's new film 'I Love You Daddy' was nixed, alleged that he exposed himself and masturbated in front of two female comedians in 2002, masturbated while speaking to a female comedian over the phone in 2003 and sought permission to masturbate in front of another comedian in 2005.

Chicago comedy duo Dana Min Goodman and Julia Wolov, comedians Rebecca Corry, Abby Schachner and one more all came forward to spill the beans on how he crossed a line into sexual misconduct.

Goodman and Wolov claimed that C.K. invited them to his room, completely undressed himself and began masturbating in front of them, while Schachner said that when she called to invite him to one of her shows in 2003, she could hear him masturbate over the phone.

Corry also told the NYT that C.K. had asked her if he could masturbate in front of her when they were preparing to feature on a television pilot together in 2005.

A fifth woman, who spoke on condition of anonymity, revealed that in the late '90s, she was working in production at "The Chris Rock Show" when C.K., a writer and producer there, repeatedly asked her to watch him masturbate

C.K.'s publicist Lewis Kay said that the comedian would not respond to the allegations, The New York Times further reported.

On a related note, the comedy world has buzzed with rumours about C.K.'s sexual misconduct for years.

In 2015, Gawker Media linked C.K. to rumours about a comedian who exposed himself to fellow performers at the Aspen and Just For Laughs comedy festivals.

Jen Kirkman seemed to refer to C.K. on a comedy podcast when she described "a known perv" who is "lauded as a genius".

As the rumuors broke into public view, comedians like Roseanne Barr and Tig Notaro called on C.K. to respond.

"I think it's important to take care of that, to handle that, because it's serious to be assaulted," Notaro told the Daily Beast. "It's serious to be harassed. It's serious, it's serious, it's serious." An episode of Notaro's show, 'One Mississippi,' featured a powerful man who masturbated in front of another character.

Meanwhile, Barr tweeted, "I have 0 idea if Louie #CK is a sexual offender or not-but there R MULTIPLE accusations in Hollywood's working woman circles. He shld answer."

The 'Horace and Pete' actor, who has cited Woody Allen and Bill Cosby as two of his comedy idols, is the father of two teenage daughters with his ex-wife of 13 years, painter Alix Bailey, whom he divorced in 2008.