Disgraced comedian Louis C.K. won his second Grammy Award on Sunday.
The former “Louie” star received the award for his comedy album “Sincerely Louis C.K.,” his first major award win since being accused of sexual misconduct in 2017 at the height of the #MeToo movement.
The award was presented during the 64th Grammy Awards Premiere Ceremony, which took place in Las Vegas ahead of the prime-time telecast on CBS. C.K. was not in attendance, so host LeVar Burton accepted the award on his behalf.
C.K.'s album was up against Lavell Crawford’s “The Comedy Vaccine,” Chelsea Handler’s “Evolution,” Lewis Black’s “Thanks for Risking Your Life,” Nate Bargatze’s “The Greatest Average American” and Kevin Hart’s “Zero F---- Given.”
Accusations of misconduct, which had swirled around the Emmy-winning comic for years, came to a head in 2017 when a number of women confirmed longstanding rumors of inappropriate behavior. But two years later, he began touring again.
In a November interview with the Wrap, Grammys Chief Executive Harvey Mason Jr. defended C.K.’s nomination, as well as that of embattled rocker Marilyn Manson, who has been accused of sexual assault.
“We won’t restrict the people who can submit their material for consideration,” Mason said. “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.”
One of Manson’s two nods was rescinded in December after his writing credit on Kanye West’s Grammy-nominated rap song “Jail” was removed. The shock rocker, who also contributed to Ye’s “Donda” album, kept the album of the year nomination for his work on the controversial rapper’s album.
C.K.'s “Sincerely Louis” was filmed in early March 2020 at the Warner Theater in Washington, D.C. — a stop on his comeback tour that began in fall 2019. He then made the comedy special available for purchase on his website in April 2020. The tour was set to continue into the late spring before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the delay or cancellation of many live events.
C.K. won his first Grammy Award in 2016 for “Live at Madison Square Garden.” Two of his other comedy albums — “Oh My God” and “Hilarious” — were also nominated in 2012 and 2015, respectively.
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