Masturbation Joke Enthusiast Louis C.K. Accused of Sexual Harassment By 5 Women

In today's sexual assault allegation news, the New York Times has published a story exposing comedian Louis C.K.'s allegedly history of masturbating in front of female comedians, a rumor that has followed the comedian for years.

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In the expose, the Times details the stories of five women who allege that C.K. had sexually harassed them in some form. Among the accusers are comedians Dana Min Goodman, Julia Wolov, Abby Schachner, Rebecca Corry, and a fifth woman who wished to remain anonymous.

For the comedy duo of Goodman and Wolov, their alleged incident with C.K. happened in 2002 when he invited them to his hotel room for a drink following their breakout performance at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, Colorado. As soon as they got into his hotel room, he asked if he could take his dick out, according to the women. "He really did it," Ms. Goodman said in an interview with the Times. "He proceeded to take all of his clothes off, and get completely naked, and started masturbating."

In another incident, in 2003, Schachner was having a phone conversation with C.K. when she realized he was allegedly masturbating as he began telling her his sexual fantasies on what was supposed to be a professional phone call. Another comedian, Corry, was reportedly asked by C.K. if he could masturbate in front of her, which she declined. The fifth, anonymous woman, was working with C.K. in the '90s on The Chris Rock Show when he asked to masturbate in front of her, as well.

As with many cases of alleged sexual assault, the women felt a fear of coming forward because of the power C.K. wields in the comedy world. Over the past few years, he's sold out Madison Square Garden eight times and created an Emmy-winning TV series.

He also happens to be the creator of this year's most cringe-worthy movie: I Love You, Daddy. If you've been spared from seeing the trailer, here's a brief synopsis: a television writer, played by C.K., has his teenage daughter romanced by a very old film producer. A screening for the movie that was set to happen tonight has already been cancelled in the wake of the allegations.

Not only does this film producer character invite comparisons to Harvey Weinstein, but in part of the film, one of the characters literally "pretends to masturbate at length in front of other people," according to the Times. C.K. has made a running joke in his comedy routines of talking about and mimicking masturbation on stage.

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It's a recurring "joke" that has also ensnared comedian Tig Notaro whose Amazon series, One Mississippi, lists Louis C.K. as an executive producer. She allegedly learned of his reputation after he had signed on to the show and now feels "trapped" by the association with him. "Sadly, I've come to learn that Louis C.K.'s victims are not only real," she said by email to the Times, "but many are actual friends of mine within the comedy community."

As the allegations come out, Notaro has expressed her full support for the women who've come forward and highlighted the courage "to speak up against such a powerful figure," she said, "as well as the multitude of women still out there, not quite ready to share their nightmares."