Who is lying: Louis CK or Tig Notaro?
Or, is it just a case of faulty recollection?
You'd think it would be memorable moment. for Notaro: That moment when the dam of persistent obscurity, bursts, and that big deal of a man (tig notaro's description of Louis CK,) rescued the diesel in distress from anonymity, indigence and disgrace.
The knight in shining armor, in this case, was a red headed chap with the unusual name- Louis CK- and he had witnessed those magic moments when the desiccated comedienne, with the absurdly annoying name- tig notaro- was finally in possession of a story that might get her some genuine public attention.... laughter and perseverance in the face of surreal levels of misery- illness, death of a parent, and then cancer in both breasts that are in a precarious stage- stage 2. She couldn't go into the lawsuit and the non stop onslaught of lost opportunities to worm her way into becoming a household name. Her true wish- to be a household name, and not the friend of various household names such as Sarah Silverman. She was one desperate woman on August 3rd 2012, when she took the Largo Stage.
The afternoon after Notaro spilled her supposed story, to the Largo Audience, Louis CK, made a tweet that praised the performance. Depending on who you talk to it was a terrific tweet, or a terrible tweet. Judging by his breathless retelling to Terry Gross it was a memorable moment for Lois CK . She cornered him to tell him that the cancer had spread to her chest, and all throughout her lymph nodes and she wouldn't likely make it and then she performed and he wept and laughed and shook all about. Likely not as memorable as it would be to Notaro, but memorable. The man was nearly having a seizure.
Notaro then would claim to go to sleep unawares and awaken to fame- the phone abuzz, and the email full of 10 millions texts and voice message and book deals... and all those from her distant and not so distant past reaching out since "everyone in the world knew." On a Saturday afternoon editors and publishers were all vying for her attention. The way she describes it is fantastic. As in fantasy fantastic. Or, fantastical fantastic. Millions of strangers and non strangers all lining up to "support" this manly lady who took to the stage, and told a room of strangers, that she wasn't doing too hot. Only the parting of the sea by Moses's staff could compete impressive- wise.
Even though the tweet was made in the afternoon, and the Kira Hesser Carol Hartsell collaboration(we'll get to that later,) wasn't out there until late in the afternoon the next day. There would be so many evidence free claims of worldwide fame and virality to come, and it wasn't just out of the mouth of a deluded dyke such as Ms. Notaro, but out of the mouths of writers and bloggers-" Historical, legendary, defining." MY ASS. The ass of anyone perceiving reality. Journalism degrees wasted on blatant pimping of those who can pay the right price, really. Again, on a Saturday by Noon, millions upon millions of raving fans were inundating ms. notaro's communication devices.
But, let's say Thing Notaro is a real late riser, and Saturady afternoon is a hot time for publishers and such, and so on the afternoon or evening of August 4th 2012, she awoke to a world of memorable moments.
They both were selling a story. No shame in that. She had the illnesses and he had the platform to make those experiences profitable. No shame in profiting off a truly good, or great story. But, don't you suppose the story has to be true? Especially, when you are telling the audience that the money is going for good causes, or is based in cancer? That money given will be given to "charities that fight breast cancer."
When you are pulling at the heartstrings to get to the purse strings-- is it ok that Notaro and Louis Ck have such different stories? There stories vary in two ways- first, one major:the backstage encounter that she then denies, and then a more minor one: how he contacts her to get the deal going.
Wouldn't both Notaro and Louis CK's recounts of the backstage experience before Notaro took the stage to talk of her bad times-- be consistent? We'll cover that this week.
Lets just go with the more minor one, today.
Notaro would say in her liner notes(available online will get link if you want....) for some highly press released, "physical release" of her cancer tape in August of 2013:
The day after this was taped, Louis CK called to say that he felt it was really important for people to hear the show and that he wanted to release it on his website. At first, I felt there was no way I could release such a raw set, but after I gained some distance and encouragement from friends, I realized that if I could help a single person on this earth feel that they can push through something—whether it’s a rough day at the office or a deadly diagnosis—then it made zero sense for me to not release it.
(So now she is saying that on August 4th 2012, Louis CK began the arm twisting by calling her. The arm twisting t that would allow her to submit to it's release on October 5th 20012. (October just happens to be cancer awareness month y'all.)
From his website- Louis.ck.com
After her set, I asked Mark Flanagan, the owner of Largo (great club, by the way) if he recorded the set. Largo is set up for excellent recordings. He said that he did.
A few days later, I wrote Tig and asked her if I could release this set on my site. I wanted people to hear what I saw. What we all saw that night. She agreed. The show is on sale for the same 5 dollars I charge for my stuff. I’m only keeping 1. She gets the other 4. Tig has decided to give some of that to cancer research.
In another account Notaro remembers it this way: Here she texts him!
Tig: First of all, I remember after he tweeted that and I woke up to all these offers and book deals and I was like what the hell happened? And I texted him jokingly like, careful how you use your power! Because I did not expect the world to know.
To Out magazine, she again has the Lousi CK called me the next day and set I must release this.
“When Louis C.K. called me the day after and said, ‘This needs to be released,’ I pictured myself running off to a deserted island after I released it,” Notaro says. “I never would have released that on my own, never in a million years.”
As you can see Notaro's version of phone call urgency doesn't jibe with Louis Ck's recall of an a e-mail a few days later.
Whatever the case, Ira Glass, Louis CK, and Tig Notaro all would start capitalizing, just in time for cancer month: Hmmm from August 4th to October 5th - why the wait?
476: What Doesn't Kill You
Oct 5, 2012
Stories of how people cope after brushes with death. Sometimes death comes as a disease. Sometimes it swims up and bites you. And sometimes it's a pen or pencil, sitting there, just waiting for you to ingest it.
Tig Notaro's comedy set is at Louis CK's site.
Tig Notaro's comedy set is at Louis CK's site.
P.S I'm sure I'll find even more version of how she or he was contacted.... keep watching.
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