In 2012, when speculation ran rampant that a Gawker blind item about a comedian’s gross sexual misconduct was about Louis C.K., C.K.’s friend Doug Stanhope posted something unexpected on Facebook: the item was really about him.

A New York Times report about C.K. describes an incident that closely tracks the one detailed in Gawker’s report, which has raised even more speculation that Gawker was calling out C.K. at the time.

Which begs the question: what gives, Stanhope?

Also Read: Louis CK Film Release Under 'Careful Consideration' After Sexual Misconduct Accusations

Turns out, he was joking.

Stanhope, a friend of C.K.’s who has appeared on his FX show “Louie,” posted a statement to Twitter saying that the tip off should have been his claiming to be a comic described as “our nation’s most hilarious… critically cherished sitcom auteur.”

If you don't see the joke in me taking credit 5 yrs ago for being the unnamed comic described in the original jack-attack story as "“our nation’s most hilarious stand-up comic and critically cherished sitcom auteur" then I can't help you. — Doug Stanhope (@DougStanhope) November 9, 2017

Shortly after, Stanhope’s manager chimed in to put a finer point on things:

This is Doug's passive-aggressive way of saying I've failed him as a manager. — Brian Hennigan (@MrHennigan) November 9, 2017

In the 2012 Gawker piece, titled “Which Beloved Comedian Likes to Force Female Comics to Watch Him Jerk Off?,” the site wrote that “our nation’s most hilarious stand-up comic and critically cherished sitcom auteur adds a thrilling twist to his onanistic escapades: He traps unsuspecting women in his hotel room and makes them stick around until he’s done.”

Also Read: Louis CK Accused of Sexual Misconduct by 5 Women

A few days after the story was published, Stanhope took to Facebook to not only share the piece, but also claim to be the mystery comedian. “Gawker put this story out about me without using my name, as if I’d care,” Stanhope wrote.

Fans soon flooded the post’s comments section to say they were pretty sure the comedian was C.K.

The 2012 Gawker story cited anonymous sources. On Thursday, comedians Dana Min Goodman and Julia Wolov told the New York Times on the record of a creepy encounter that sounded remarkably similar to the one described by Gawker. The Times also included accusations against C.K. made by three other women.

Also Read: Louis CK Accused of Sexual Misconduct by 5 Women

You can see Stanhope’s Facebook post below.