Grammys criticised after disgraced Louis CK wins award despite admitting sexual misconduct

The decision to present Louis CK with the Grammy for best comedy album has been met with criticism after he had previously admitted to allegations of sexual misconduct.

The comedian, who won the accolade for his record Sincerely Louis, has admitted to masturbating in front of several women in 2017.

The comedian’s attempt to revive his career following his admissions have been criticised by members of the comedy industry.

He shared a lengthy statement in response to the claims, in which he said he felt “remorseful” and there was “nothing about this that I forgive myself for”.

In the wake of the scandal he lost his production deal with FX, which was home to his comedy series, Louie.

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The Grammy winner was accused of masturbating in front of a number of comedians and actresses in an article in The New York Times.

American journalist David M Perry shared an article about the #MeToo movement and tweeted: "Louis CK, who masturbated in front of women without consent, then had their careers derailed, just won Best Comedy Album at the Grammys.

"We are nowhere close to a reckoning on sexual misconduct, even just in the narrow slice of professional contexts."

Sarah Keyworth said: "CK winning a Grammy for best comedy album is an insult to all female/ non-binary comedians everywhere. It’s a message to us that our industry doesn’t care if we are abused by the men we work alongside, especially if those men are a cash cow. We should be furious."

Comedian Mae Martin tweeted: "Can’t think of a joke about this, because it’s not funny to me at the moment . I’m sorry to the young comics he assaulted, who lost so much & have to see this headline today/everyone who’s had a similar experience because of a spineless response from our community to assault."

Recording Academy's CEO Harvey Mason Jr said when the nominations were announced: “We won’t restrict the people who can submit their material for consideration.

"We won’t look back at people’s history, we won’t look at their criminal record, we won’t look at anything other than the legality within our rules of, is this recording for this work eligible based on date and other criteria.

"If it is, they can submit for consideration.”

Louis CK did not collect the award in person and has not commented on his victory.