He’s known as an astute comic observer with an unerring ability to skewer the most hypocritical moments of modern life. But it turns out Louis C.K. can also be a surprising example of TV’s double standard when it comes to men, women and weight. He complains about his tubby body in part of his standup act. But on his TV show, his love interests are often beautiful, thin actresses like Parker Posey and Yvonne Strahovski.
Monday’s episode of his FX series, Louie, puts all that hypocrisy on the line. He takes an overweight girl on a date, and she hits him with this: “On behalf of all the fat girls, I’m making you represent all of the guys,” says Vanessa, a woman who was once a waitress at a comedy club where Louie performed, dressing him down during their first date. “Why do you hate us so much?”
Now let’s stop here a minute and rewind.
The episode begins with Louis C.K. performing at a comedy club. He talks about how deftly women put off men they’re not interested in — hugging them in a “boxing move” to avoid kisses — before proving how much worse men are at it. When he steps offstage, he meets a funny, vivacious overweight waitress named Vanessa.
“I get off in an hour. You wanna hang out?” she asks. “Are you scared that I’m asking you out? Because I am.”