Sarah Silverman finally breaks silence on friend Louis CK

Stand-up comedian and Louis CK's long-time friend Sarah Silverman has finally addressed the scandal surrounding one of her "best friends of over 25 years."

According to The Guardian, in a monologue to camera that prefaces this week's episode of her comedy series 'I Love You, America', Silverman admitted that it is difficult to balance her long-term friendship with the disgraced star with the allegations against him.

She opened her monologue by saying, "I've of course been asked to comment, and in full honesty I really, don't want to. I wish I could sit this one out. But, if it's mentionable, it's manageable. So I'm going to address the elephant masturbating in the room."

The 46-year-old comedian then jokes about addressing "the elephant masturbating in the room" and explains why speaking out has been so difficult.

She noted, "One of my best friends of over 25 years, Louis C.K., masturbated in front of women. He wielded his power with women in f***ed up ways, sometimes to the point where they left comedy entirely."

Silverman then explained that she could soften her sentiments with "heartwarming stories" of their friendship or how he's a loving father, but concludes that mentioning those things are "irrelevant now."

"I love Louis. But Louis did these things. Both of those statements are true, so I just keep asking myself, 'Can you love someone who did bad things? Can you still love them?' I can mull that over later, certainly, because the only people that matter right now are the victims," continued Silverman.

Rumours about CK's behaviour had been circulating for some time, with Gawker alluding to it without mentioning his name in 2012 and then again naming him in 2015.

But it was only last week when a leading U.S. publication printed testimonies from five women who claimed he had behaved inappropriately toward them.

The 'Louie' star released a public statement confirming that all the allegations "were true".

Since the allegations surfaced, FX has cut all ties with the comedian and his series 'Louie', with his upcoming film, 'I Love You Daddy', also being dropped by distributor The Orchard.