Louis C.K.

Known for his notoriously caustic riffs on fatherhood and family life, flame-haired comedian Louis C.K. was a well-known fixture in comedy clubs beginning in the late 1980s and leading up to writing turns on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" (NBC, 1993-2009) and "The Chris Rock Show" (HBO, 1997-2000). The same man who won an Emmy for the latter also wrote and directed the notorious comedy bomb "Pootie Tang" (2001). He made headlines for top-lining HBO's groundbreaking and controversial sitcom, "Lucky Louie" (2006), and continued to record comedy specials at an impressive rate, racking up a number of fans not only in the paying audience, but amongst his fellow stand-ups as well. A recurring role on "Parks and Recreation" (NBC, 2009-2015) as Amy Poehler's good-hearted cop boyfriend helped pave the way for his return to headlining his own show, the critically acclaimed hit "Louie" (FX, 2010-15). Wherever his career took him, the Emmy-winning comedian made the most of every opportunity, growing a sizable and devoted fanbase who hung on his every word, much as audiences had with comedy visionaries like George Carlin and Richard Pryor before him. However, allegations of sexual misconduct that were an open secret in the comedy community for years returned to the public eye in November 2017 when the New York Times confirmed long-rumored stories about C.K. both masturbating in front of women and asking women if he could do so. C.K. confirmed the stories in a public statement the following day. The immediate fallout included the loss of a distribution deal for the film "I Love You, Daddy" (2017), a film about a May/December romance starring Chloe Grace Moretz and John Malkovich which C.K. had written and directed in homage to Woody Allen's "Manhattan" (1979).