backing away

Louis C.K.’s Former Manager Dave Becky Apologizes for “Perceived Cover-Up”

Becky issued a mea culpa for chastising the two female comedians who first came forward about Louis C.K.’s predatory behavior.
Louis C.K. and Dave Becky
Louis C.K. and producer Dave Becky at HBO's Official Golden Globe Awards After Party at The Beverly Hilton Hotel, January 13, 2013.By Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic.

Louis C.K.’s former manager is leaping off the comedian’s sinking ship as quickly as possible. Dave Becky, a behind-the-scenes power player who also manages Aziz Ansari and Amy Poehler, issued a lengthy apology on Monday for his past behavior, after The New York Times reported he had threatened two female comedians for spreading the true story of the time C.K. masturbated in front of them without their consent.

“What I did was wrong, and again, I am extremely sorry,” Becky wrote in a new statement, per TMZ.

The women—comedy duo Dana Min Goodman and Julia Wolov—were two of the five women who spoke on the record to the Times about C.K.’s predatory pattern of behavior. After C.K. masturbated in front of them in a hotel room in 2002, the duo decided against going to the police. Instead, they spread the story about C.K.’s troubling behavior among their peers. Shortly afterward, their manager told them that Becky was unhappy about what they were doing.

When the duo later moved to Los Angeles, Goodman says landing on the manager’s bad side felt like an albatross around her neck. “We were coming here with a bunch of enemies,” she told the Times. Not only does Becky represent some of the biggest names in comedy, but he also runs the powerful company 3 Arts, which has put together a wide variety of popular comedy shows.

In response to the initial report, Becky told the Times that he cannot “recall the exact specifics of the conversation, but know I never threatened anyone.”

In his new statement, though, Becky says he is deeply apologetic for his behavior, saying he now understands that his response was “perceived as a threat to cover-up sexual misconduct.”

“I profoundly regret and am deeply sorry for not listening to and not understanding what happened to Dana and Julia,” he wrote. “If I had, I would have taken this event as seriously as it deserved to be, and I would have confronted Louis, which would have been the right thing to do.”

Becky, who dropped C.K. as a client shortly after the comedian confirmed the allegations, says that he initially thought Wolov and Goodman were spreading a rumor about the two of them having a consensual sexual encounter with C.K., who was then a married man.

“Albeit enormously embarrassing, in no way did I interpret the interaction as threatening or nonconsensual,” he wrote. “I misperceived the casual way the story was portrayed to me—instead I should have recognized that it must have been a mask for their unease and discomfort in the face of his detestable behavior.”

Here is Becky’s full statement:

“I profoundly regret and am deeply sorry for not listening to and not understanding what happened to Dana and Julia. If I had, I would have taken this event as seriously as it deserved to be, and I would have confronted Louis, which would have been the right thing to do.

I am providing this context so that others do not make the same mistake I did. At that time, I heard the story thirdhand, and I interpreted the conversation as two women telling a story about a sexual encounter with a then-married Louis. Albeit enormously embarrassing, in no way did I interpret the interaction as threatening or nonconsensual. I misperceived the casual way the story was portrayed to me—instead I should have recognized that it must have been a mask for their unease and discomfort in the face of his detestable behavior. My intent was to seek discretion to protect what I thought was a matter of infidelity. I now comprehend that my response was perceived as a threat to cover-up sexual misconduct. This is not an excuse. What I did was wrong, and again, I am extremely sorry.

In hindsight, I was operating blindly from a one-sided place of privilege. Until last week, I knew only of this one isolated incident. Although this may sound naive, it is true. Never once, in all of these years, did anyone mention any of the other incidents that were reported recently—I am appalled to learn of these. I have come to realize my status wielded an atmosphere where such news did not reach me, or worse yet, that it seemed such news did not matter to me. It does. It matters tremendously.

I am going to take time to reflect on this, to educate myself daily, and to strive towards a more enlightened path. I want to ensure that all voices around me are heard, and that everyone is treated respectfully and empathetically. More than anything, I want to create an environment that is a better, safer, and fairer place.”