Disgraced comedian Louis C.K. schedules major new tour

US comedian Louis C.K., whose previously high-flying career was derailed by sexual misconduct revelations, on Wednesday announced a major international tour beginning next week.

C.K. admitted to masturbating in front of multiple women following a newspaper expose in 2017, just a month after revelations about Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein triggered the global #MeToo movement.

After a series of low-key "comeback" gigs in 2018 drew more heated criticism for jokes about school shooting survivors and non-binary people, C.K.'s attempt to return to major touring last year was postponed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

"I'm really looking forward to seeing your faces as I tell some rather impolite jokes and stories," the former "Louie" star told fans in an email Wednesday.

New and rescheduled tour dates on his website include shows in cities across the United States, Germany, Denmark, Romania and Ukraine.

In November 2017, the New York Times published allegations against C.K. by five women, who accused him of masturbating or asking to masturbate in front of them or on the telephone, in separate incidents dating from the late 1990s to 2005.

The six-time Emmy winner did not deny the allegations, and his mainstream career went up in flames.

He was dumped by Netflix, his publicist, the television networks FX and HBO, while a movie project about the relationship between an ageing filmmaker and a teenage girl was scrapped.

Last year, C.K. released a comedy special via his website in which he referred to the scandal, asking the audience "how was 2018 and 2019 for you guys?"

"I learned a lot," he said. "I learned how to eat alone in a restaurant with people giving me the finger from across the room."