Louis CK just gave us a forecast of the post-#MeToo age

His choice of venue and the substance of his routine may also foretell the way his fellow alleged abusers will eke out paths to their former places of power. There was an explosion of outrage when Tina Brown said she was pitched a show that would feature Charlie Rose, who was accused of sexual harassment and assault by about three dozen women, interviewing other famous men who’d lost their jobs amid similar allegations. People were floored by the audacity of a man who would potentially stage such a self-congratulatory comeback, putting the growth narratives of himself and other alleged assailants at the center of a story about women’s pain and resilience. But C.K.’s Sunday set suggests that it may not be a sympathetic Charlie Rose roundtable or glossy magazine spread or self-aware, highly produced streaming special that heralds these men’s reentry into public life. The more likely route to reputation renovation will simply be nonchalant reintroduction into the cultural bloodstream, little by little, like routine allergy shots that cause a milder reaction with each prick.

If the response of C.K.’s comedy brethren is any indication of how other industry allies of alleged abusers might welcome their respective fallen comrades back into the fold, it will be remarkably easy for men to return to the workplaces where they, in many cases, harassed and assaulted women with impunity for decades. On Instagram, Che responded to critics with a kind of exhausted, defiant nihilism. When someone commented that C.K. is “going to be getting money and opportunities that he shouldn’t be allowed to get,” Che asked, “Who’s to say what someone should be ‘allowed’ to get? I mean, who makes THAT decision? You? The law? Jesus?” When asked what C.K. “deserves,” Che responded, “I really don’t know. I haven’t talked to him in a while. I don’t know any of his accusers. I don’t know what he’s done to right that situation, and it’s none of my business. But I do believe any free person has a right to speak and make a living.”