Comedian Louis C.K. confesses to sexual abuse charges, expresses remorse

US comedian Louis C.K. admitted to sexual misconduct and expressed remorse on Friday after a New York Times expose accused him of masturbating in front of women amid Hollywood’s burgeoning sexual harassment scandal.

“These stories are true,” C.K. said in a statement released by his representative to US media a day after the newspaper expose from five women.

The paper published accusations from the women saying that the award-winning comic masturbated or asked to masturbate in front of them or on the telephone in separate incidents dating from the late 1990s to 2005.

“At the time, I said to myself that what I did was OK because I never showed a woman my dick without asking first, which is also true,” said C.K. in the statement.

“But what I learned later in life, too late, is that when you have power over another person, asking them to look at your dick isn’t a question. It’s a predicament for them. The power I had over these women is that they admired me. And I wielded that power irresponsibly,” he said.