Louis C.K. says he's 'so not broke' after revealing he has millions in debt
"I'm so not broke," the comedian and TV star said Wednesday on "The Bill Simmons Podcast."
Earlier this month, C.K. said on "The Howard Stern Show" that he took out "millions of dollars" in loans in order to finish producing the first season of "Horace and Pete," on which he and Steve Buscemi play two owners of an Irish bar. He then independently released the episodes for viewing on his website for a fee. In the end, C.K. announced that the show wouldn't continue beyond its first season.
C.K. told Simmons of the reporting surrounding his debt comments that it was "kinda crazy to see how wrong it gets and to see how far that wrong-ness spreads."
"I went on 'Howard Stern' and talked about where the show was at, and I told him that I'm in debt - I borrowed money to make the show, which is every single TV show ever made. They're all in debt," he explained. "I know this from getting my financial reports for my show on FX ['Louie'], because I'm a partner on my FX show. I mean I have participation in the profits, so they send me a thing that tells me, and I read those. And it says this show is in deficit. And they stay in deficit for a long time."
C.K. went on to say that the debt he took out on "Horace and Pete" was an expected risk and part of making a show. He also suggested there was more money to be made by selling distribution rights to networks, Netflix, iTunes, or other content distributors.
"The thing that was left out is that I own a television show," he said of the reports. "I own a complete series... It's an enormous asset and it's mine forever."
Listen to Louis C.K. clarify his debt comments on the podcast below: