Louis C.K. has won the 2022 Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album for Sincerely Louis C.K., the 2020 special in which he joked about his sexual misconduct.
It’s C.K.’s first comedy special since 2017, which was released the same year he was accused of sexual misconduct by five women, later admitting the allegations were true.
In Sincerely Louis C.K., the now-54-year-old comedian addressed claims that he had masturbated in front of women, sometimes without asking permission, and other times seeking consent from people who, for professional reasons, said they felt they couldn’t say no. He joked, “I like jerking off, I don’t like being alone, that’s all I can tell you. I get lonely, it’s just sad. I like company. I like to share. I’m good at it, too. If you’re good at juggling, you wouldn’t do it alone in the dark. You’d gather folks and amaze them.”
He added that he had learned from the experience. “If you want to do it with someone else, you need to ask first. But if they say yes, you still don’t get to go ‘Woo!’ and charge ahead,” he explained. “You need to check in often, I guess that’s what I’d say. It’s not always clear how people feel. Men are taught to make sure the woman is okay. The thing is, women know how to seem okay when they’re not okay.”
Harvey Mason Jr., President and CEO of the Recording Academy, said at the time of C.K.’s nomination, “We won’t look back at people’s history, we won’t look at their criminal record, we won’t look at anything other than the legality within our rules of, is this recording for this work eligible based on date and other criteria. If it is, they can submit for consideration.”
C.K.’s comeback special beat out albums by Lavell Crawford (The Comedy Vaccine), Chelsea Handler (Evolution), Lewis Black (Thanks for Risking Your Life), Nate Bargatze (The Greatest Average American), and Kevin Hart (Zero Fucks Given).
Check out the full list of winners here.
