Norm Macdonald Apologizes For Defending Louis C.K., Roseanne

Norm Macdonald has his foot in his mouth. Just a few hours after he came under fire for making light of the #MeToo movement in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the comedian publicly apologized for “minimizing the pain” of victims and for stepping in to defend Louis C.K. and Roseanne Barr.

“Roseanne and Louis have both been very good friends of mine for many years,” Macdonald wrote on Twitter. “They both made terrible mistakes and I would never defend their actions. If my words sounded like I was minimizing the pain that their victims feel to this day, I am deeply sorry.”

Yesterday, Macdonald drew criticism for telling THR he was “happy the #MeToo moment has slowed down a little bit” and arguing in favor of Louis C.K. and Roseanne at the expense of their victims. “Roseanne was so broken up [after her show’s reboot was canceled] that I got Louis to call her, even though Roseanne was very hard on Louis before that,” said Macdonald. “But she was just so broken and just crying constantly. There are very few people that have gone through what they have, losing everything in a day. People will go, ‘What about the victims?’ But you know what? The victims didn’t have to go through that.”

Macdonald’s apology may appease some fans who are looking forward to the debut of his Netflix talk show, Norm Macdonald Has a Show, but it came too late for NBC: the network canceled Macdonald’s appearance on The Tonight Show just a few hours before he issued his public apology. “Out of sensitivity to our audience and in light of Norm Macdonald’s comments in the press today, The Tonight Show has decided to cancel his appearance on Tuesday’s telecast,” said NBC in a statement.

Norm Macdonald Has a Show premieres on Netflix on Friday, September 14.