is the author of the novel Nigh and journalist who covers art and culture. He has previously written for outlets such as Breitbart, LifeZette, and BizPac Review among others. Follow him on Twitter @WritingLeeman

Louis C.K.’s independently released comedy special is a ding in the armor of cancel culture, a perfect takedown of woke mobs that proves humor is the voice of the people.

After losing gigs at FX, Netflix, HBO, and having his film ‘I Love You Daddy’ scrapped at the last minute in 2017, it was easy to presume the edgy humor of Louis C.K. would go dark forever. After all, who could remain funny after being accused of sexual misconduct in the midst of the #MeToo craze?

After taking a few months away, the comedian hit the road again and took the scandals surrounding him head-on. Now, he’s taken things a step further and released a new comedy special titled ‘Sincerely Louis C.K.’

Without a major outlet willing to touch the seeming pariah, Louis C.K. side-stepped cancel culture’s consequences and released the special independently through his website for the low cost of $7.99.

To say the world’s woke warriors have been outraged would be an understatement.

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“Louis CK whips out a new comedy special nobody wants to see,” the Mary Sue wrote.

“Louis CK releases special no one asked for,” the Daily Beast added.

Variety’s Jordan Moreau calls the new special “racist” and “misogynistic.”

Other left-wing outlets have been producing similar coverage giving special attention to C.K.’s humor about his own misconduct. Some even contemplated the “challenge” of watching the comedian perform standup in the wake of his scandals — he was accused by several women of pleasuring himself in front of them, and though he claims he got consent each time, he admits he “wielded [his] power irresponsibly.”

Though he was never convicted or charged of any crime, some of the women accused him of setting up situations where they were forced to watch him or worried about consequences to their careers if they did not.

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Twitter has also been over-bloated with triggered wokesters appalled that anyone could support the man.

“I’m not going to watch any of it… he’s a s**thead,” ‘Tickled’ director Dylan Reeve tweeted.

“Louis C.K. finally found a way to make money off sexually assaulting women… during a pandemic,” actress Ellen Barkin wrote in reaction to the special.

“Anyone who defends or supports him is a bad person,” another user wrote.

“Louis C.K. can absolutely go f**k himself,” another added.

Louis C.K.’s special is almost weaponized specifically to go after the very social justice warriors who grouped him in with sexual predators like Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey. Nothing is off the table. He jokes about everything from pedophilia to religion. If you thought the comedian was edgy before, he’s been unleashed in a completely new way, with zero restraints.

“Wait ‘til they see those pics of me in blackface,” he cracks after getting into his scandals. “I can’t stop doing it… I like how it feels.”

“I learned a lot,” he says of the aftermath from the accusations against him. “I learned how to eat alone in a restaurant with people giving me the finger from across the room.”

And those are just the tip of the iceberg.

But that hold-no-punches comedy in the face of a culture that turned on him has earned the comedian plenty of praise too, even from right-wing outlets like National Review and Hollywood in Toto, which may come as a surprise since Louis C.K. has long been a committed liberal who often mocks conservative beliefs.

Plenty of people have also been proudly promoting the special and supporting it on social media, including some fellow comedians.

The divided response to the special speaks to why it is a milestone not just for the comedian, but for the state of cancel culture. Those in support of the notion that someone does something wrong or offensive and should lose all connections to the world and the ability to make an income are flabbergasted that anyone would want to support Louis C.K. Those with more nuanced outlooks who realize you cannot group people — especially people accused of misconduct — and judge them universally, as was done in the heat of #MeToo, are welcoming a comeback from the comedian.

The existence of ‘Sincerely Louis C.K.’ and the positive reactions prove that cancel culture and those who support it are not as powerful as they once were. The comedian has gone out and produced and distributed his own material, and people are not afraid to watch it, support him and laugh.

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And, most importantly, Louis C.K. is funny. This is what he does, and he’s not letting any virtue signaling mob stop him. Did we expect him to disappear forever and halt his career?

The comedian said he released the special for “those who need to laugh” and in these dark cultural times where someone can lose a show they created for telling a bad joke, Louis C.K. is proving that humor is the voice of the people and rises above the nonsense partisanship that has become so toxic and common. People want to laugh and leave the swift and concrete judgements that seem so prevalent in our culture behind. This new special offers that on a silver platter.

‘Sincerely’ counter-punches cancel culture in the best way possible — with humor. Others should take note.

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.