'Can you love someone who did bad things?' Sarah Silverman breaks silence over Louis CK accusations

Sarah Silverman has confronted the sexual misconduct allegations levelled against her friend and fellow comedian Louis CK.

Silverman, 46, said she is struggling to process “all this s***,” and is questioning whether she can continue to love him as a friend in the wake of the accusations.

Speaking to camera ahead of this week’s episode of her series I Love You, America, she said: “I’ve of course been asked to comment, and in full honesty I really, I really really really, don’t want to. I wish I could sit this one out. I’m still processing all this s***.

“One of my best friends of over 25 years, Louis CK, masturbated in front of women. He wielded his power with women in f***** up ways, sometimes to the point where they left comedy entirely.”

She continued: “I could couch this with heartwarming stories of our friendship and what a great dad he is, but that’s totally irrelevant, isn’t it? Yes, it is. It’s a real mind f*** because I love Louis, but Louis did these things. Both of those statements are true, so I just keep asking myself, can you love someone who did bad things? Can you still love them?”

Silverman said the “only people that matter right now are the victims” and said it was “vital” that those found guilty are “held accountable for their actions, no matter who they are”.

CK responded to allegations he exposed himself to four women and performed a sex act over the phone to a fifth following a New York Times report.

He confirmed the reports are “true” and said he was struggling to “wrap my head around the scope of hurt I brought on them”.

In a statement he said: “There is nothing about this that I forgive myself for. And I have to reconcile it with who I am. Which is nothing compared to the task I left them with.

“I wish I had reacted to their admiration of me by being a good example to them as a man and given them some guidance as a comedian, including because I admired their work.

“The hardest regret to live with is what you’ve done to hurt someone else.”

FX, the broadcaster behind CK’s series Louie cut all ties with him following his confession. His upcoming film, I Love You Daddy, was dropped by distributor The Orchard and he lost his publicist and manager.