The #MeToo movement brought about a wave of so-called cancellations, but there are some big names that drew more attention than others. Harvey Weinstein was perhaps the most infamous, but Louis C.K. was another example that drew a lot of attention and conversation. Back in 2017, after an exposé featuring the testimony of several victims, he admitted to exposing himself and masturbating in front of a number of women (particularly fellow comedians) without their consent. Not only was this a gross violation, he also derailed careers as he kept his disturbing predilection quiet.

Naturally, the world was disgusted. He immediately fell from his perch on top of the world, his movie disappeared, he became a Hollywood pariah. For a while…

Related: How The Recording Academy Defended Louis C.K. & Marilyn Manson Noms…

On Sunday night, however, the disgraced comic was, well, the opposite of disgraced when he was awarded with the Grammy for Best Comedy Album. The project, Sincerely Louis C.K., came out well after his scandal and even includes jokes about his misconduct. The category wasn’t part of the televised portion of the ceremony, but as the news began circulating on Twitter, there was an immediate backlash.

One user wrote:

“Louis CK just won a Grammy, so I don’t want to hear any more whining about cancel culture. Men can sexually prey on women, the victims can have their careers and confidence destroyed, it can all go public – and there will still be no real consequences.”

Another observed:

“Louis CK just won a f**king grammy for best comedy album. This is beyond disgusting for all victims of SA, but is especially telling of how these revered institutions, in fact, do not give a f**k about victims of violence. They will ALWAYS foster and celebrate violence”

People who say Me Too has “gone too far” love to point to what they see as feminism’s supposed sadism. But I for one just wish that men’s sexual abuse and harassment was considered morally worse than women’s complaints about it. The latter seems to get punished more.

— Moira Donegan (@MoiraDonegan) April 4, 2022

Oof. Too true.

Jen Kirkman — one of the comedians who has come forward about her experience with Louis — shared one of her own jokes on the subject. Def worth a watch:

Louis CK won a Grammy tonight for an album that came out after his sexual assaults (that he admitted to) that contains him acting like a victim saying “everyone knows my thing…” MY NEW COMEDY ALBUM CAME OUT THIS WEEK. HERE IS ONE OF THE BITS ON IT. https://t.co/6zXTfIvZdn

— JEN KIRKMAN (@JenKirkman) April 4, 2022

Elsewhere, a poorly-worded tweet from The Hollywood Reporter also prompted jokes about a “new” Grammy category that feels a little too real:

Call me old fashioned but I still don’t think this should be a category https://t.co/RasMpxvwzb

— James Felton (@JimMFelton) April 4, 2022

Quite a specific category, but with a lot of competition. https://t.co/LoR7kzAJov

— Liz Buckley (@liz_buckley) April 4, 2022

Related: Cardi B Deletes Social Media After Feuding With Fans Over Skipping The Grammys

Many others pointed out the contrast between this dubious win and the controversy from the week before: Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars. Will has already resigned from the Academy, with more consequences from the organization likely to follow. Not to mention all his upcoming projects are being shelved as companies distance themselves from him. Quite a few fans were perplexed by the appearance of hypocrisy:

“Louis CK winning a Grammy is some wild shit after all the shit this week. Good googly moogly the hypocrisy”

“Louis CK just won a whole ass Grammy while y’all are either calling for Will Smith’s head or crying about cancel culture. There are no consequences for white cishet men”

“Will Smith is going to end up more punished than Louis CK, you watch.”

Will Smith smacks Someone to defend his wife and everybody has an opinion. Louis CK wins a Grammy after sexually assulting women and ???????????????? from Jim Carrey and Amy Schumer. pic.twitter.com/DRkx3aWlNs

— AntisocialButterfly???? (@XLaBlackPlagueX) April 4, 2022

How come Louis ck didn’t have to step down from the recording academy when he showed his dick to a bunch of women without consent

— Mey Rude (@meyrude) April 4, 2022

If you happen to be angrier about Will Smith winning an Oscar after slapping Chris Rock than you are about Louis CK winning a Grammy after serially sexually abusing women, really ask yourselves why that is, beloveds. https://t.co/T0BKAotH7X

— Eric Atcheson, Pandemic PastorDad of 0 Brain Cells (@RevEricAtcheson) April 3, 2022

While the situations are very different — two separate Academies, and wildly different circumstances — we admit it’s hard to avoid the comparison. The backlash in both cases has highlighted the institutional issues that affect women and people of color, and possibly illuminated the need for serious reform.

By the way, this is the same show that barred Kanye West from performing because of his “concerning online behavior” — though he also did, in fact, win an award that night. Again, these are two different scenarios, but it certainly doesn’t seem clear where the Academy stands on abusive behavior…

Scroll on for some more reactions to Louis’ win:

Louis CK already won it twice before. This album isn’t different from his prior work, except the part where he suggests he deserves sympathy “because everybody knows my thing.” No reason for the Academy to give him this award except to send a message that he did nothing wrong. https://t.co/IAAFK6JjmP

— Max Kennerly (@MaxKennerly) April 4, 2022

So anyway cancel culture isn’t real and anyone who decries it is an out of touch loser https://t.co/ZQK3cUhDAL

— Akilah Hughes (@AkilahObviously) April 4, 2022

how does being canceled ruin your life bc louis ck was canceled and they just gave him a grammy #GRAMMYs

— Maud Maame (@duhmaame) April 3, 2022

Louis CK is a great example of the reality that cancel culture is a myth used to deflect accountability. What does exist however is disproportionate and excessive repercussions for anyone who isn’t a white man. https://t.co/SDujObt9R8

— Frederick “Pre-order Patriarchy Blues” Joseph (@FredTJoseph) April 4, 2022

I guess we’re talking about Louis CK again, so I’d like to remind everyone that the issue is not whether he “deserves” to “still” be “punished,” but that he’s a workplace hazard for women.

— Defund the Police (@Pullingaclaudia) April 4, 2022

[Image via Louis C.K./YouTube]