Comedian Louis C.K., performing in Israel, talked about accusations of sexual misconduct against him and his life since he confessed and apologized. And Auschwitz.
“I’d rather be in Auschwitz than New York City,” he told the crowd during his stand-up routine Thursday in Holon, just outside of Tel Aviv.
Then came the punchline: “I mean now, not when it was open.”
The joke got a big laugh from the predominantly Jewish crowd, TMZ reports, noting that the comedian is Jewish on his father’s side.
C.K. had performed in Israel a week earlier for 4,000 fans at the hip Hangar 11 venue in the Tel Aviv port area. His act was “well-received,” according to a review in The Times of Israel.
Louis C.K. performs at The New York Comedy Festival at The Theater at Madison Square Garden, November 1, 2016. (Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Bob Woodruff Foundation/via JTA)
His last performances in Israel were in 2016, before he was accused of sexual misconduct by several women.
The Auschwitz joke is not new to C.K’s repertoire. In December 2018, during a stand-up routine at the Governor’s Comedy Club on New York’s Long Island, as he mounted a comeback, he said: “I loved New York for 20 years. Now, I would rather be in Auschwitz. Honestly, I would.”
The audio of the show was leaked about two weeks after his performance, and the Auschwitz joke sparked outrage on social media, CBS News reported at the time.
— JTA
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