Louis C.K. Faces New Backlash After Mocking Parkland Shooting Survivors in Leaked Standup Set

2 minute read

Comedian Louis C.K. is in hot water again after mocking school shooting survivors’ advocacy for gun control during a recent comedy set that was leaked online.

Back in November 2017, the New York Times reported the 51-year-old comedian allegedly touched himself in front of multiple women without their consent. C.K apologized for the sexual misconduct and said he would be stepping back and taking “a long time to listen.”

Months after the report, C.K has quietly reemerged and began performing at comedy clubs in New York City.

In a leaked recording of a recent set posted on TMZ, C.K jokes about the current generation’s obsession with political correctness.

According to CNN, the recording was of a Dec. 16 performance. In it, he mocks transgender and other non-binary people who prefer to be identified as “they.”

“They’re like royalty, they tell you what to call them,” C.K. joked. “‘You should address me as they/them, because I identify as gender neutral.’ OK, OK, you should address me as ‘there’, because I identify as a location….”

C.K. also took aim at the Parkland teenagers who survived a school shooting. He asked whether they were mature enough to think about testifying in front of Congress.

“You’re not interesting because you went to a high school where a kid got shot. Why does that mean I have to listen to you?” C.K said in the set. “How does that make you interesting, you didn’t get shot, you pushed some fat kid in the way and now I gotta listen to you talking?”

In February, 17 students at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida were shot and killed by a fellow student. Survivors of the shooting, including at least one who was wounded, immediately began advocating for gun control and helped organized the nation-wide “March For Our Lives” protest a month later and have remained vocal about the need for better gun-safety laws.

In the recording, the audience can be heard laughing and responding positively to C.K’s jokes, but online there has been backlash.

More Must-Reads From TIME

Write to Gina Martinez at gina.martinez@time.com