Jon Stewart has spoken up about Louis C.K. for the first time since a New York Time report revealed that the comedian engaged in sexual misconduct with at least five women over the years. The allegations were confirmed as true when Louis issued an apology.

Stewart and Night Of Too Many Stars creator Michelle Smigel were being interviewed by Matt Lauer and Savannah Guthrie on Today when he was asked about the allegations against his long-term friend.

Stewart said that he was “stunned”, continuing: “You give your friends the benefit of the doubt, I try to think of it in terms of, I’ve had friends who have had compulsions and have done things, gambling or drinking and drugs, and we’ve lost some of them, some of them have died. And you always find yourself back to a moment of, did I miss something? Could I have done more? And in this situation, I think we all could have. So you feel anger at what you did to people.”

He admitted: “Look, comedy on its best day is not a great environment for women. I think it’s gotten better over the years but certainly when we started 30 years ago it was really difficult, and so to do it was an act of bravery in and of itself.”

 

He recalled how he only learned of the misconduct allegations when an audience member quizzed him about them while he was recording a podcast. He also said that he hasn’t spoken to his friend since.

 

 

Via UpROXX

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