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Louis C.K.<\/a> made his TV return in an interview with Bill Maher<\/a> after admitting to sexual misconduct\u2014and folks on social media are not impressed.<\/p>\n On Friday, October 3, the American Hustle<\/em><\/a> star, 58, was a featured guest on Real Time With Bill Maher<\/a><\/em> to promote his new novel, Ingram<\/em>. It marked C.K.\u2019s first TV interview since he admitted in 2017 to inappropriate behavior<\/a> after four accusers told The New York Times<\/em><\/a> that he masturbated in front of them (and a fifth person said he asked to do so).<\/p>\n \u201cThese stories are true,\u201d he said in a statement after the bombshell report. \u201c\u2026 The power I had over these women is that they admired me. And I wielded that power irresponsibly.\u201d After C.K.\u2019s admission, he continued performing stand-up comedy; he even won a Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album in 2022. Since then, he has kept a relatively low profile.<\/p>\n During C.K.\u2019s Real Time<\/em> sit-down, he and Maher, 69, spoke at length about Ingram<\/em>, which will be released on November 11.<\/p>\n \u201cIngram is like me without a mom in Texas, I guess, sort of,\u201d he said of the titular character, to which Maher said that he \u201cmust have done so much research,\u201d considering the book takes place at an oil refinery.<\/p>\n C.K. then admitted, \u201cI\u2019ve never been on one. I have no idea. I\u2019ve never read about one or watched a movie about one. I just imagined how they must do it and I made it up.\u201d<\/p>\n Maher spoke about Ingram\u2019s journey, explaining that the character seems to take \u201cthree steps forward, two steps back\u201d in the book. \u201cAnd he keeps trying to connect with people, and they always seem to abandon him.\u201d<\/p>\n The late-night host detailed, \u201cHe finally does make one friend, this character Bart, and then they\u2019re roommates, I guess, at this oil refinery. It\u2019s a tough life. And they were in the same, small room. He kind of loses his friend because one night, Ingram discovers masturbation and kind of pays a high price for that.\u201d<\/p>\n Maher then quipped, \u201cWhere do you get your ideas?\u201d<\/p>\n After the audience and C.K. erupted into laughter at the jab, he replied, \u201cWell, like you said, \u2018Write what you know.’\u201d<\/p>\n In the comments of a clip of the interaction posted via Instagram<\/a>, many Maher fans criticized the show for not only the light-hearted approach to a serious topic but also having C.K. as a guest at all.<\/p>\n One Instagram user wondered, \u201cWhat has happened to this show?\u201d<\/p>\n Another viewer declared, \u201cNEW RULES: white male comedian goes soft on his peer accused of SA of women only to end his show with take on WOMEN not using their voices and playing victims. Bill\u2019s misogynistic \u2018views\u2019 are just mak[ing] him sound like yet another whiney white man on his platform.\u201d<\/p>\n Someone else wrote, \u201cDude come on don\u2019t platform Louie CK. He\u2019s so washed up it\u2019s ridiculous.\u201d<\/p>\n A different fan echoed, \u201cBoth of these guys have whined about cancel culture and political correctness, yet here they are discussing Louis putting out some piece of trash novel.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, yet another fan commented, \u201cDid u interview the female comedians he sexually assaulted? Where\u2019s the joint convo there @realtimers<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Real Time With Bill Maher<\/em>, Fridays, 10\/9c, HBO<\/strong><\/p>\n Read the latest entertainment news on TV Insider<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n