NEW YORK _ The bromance between Mayor Bill de Blasio and Louis C.K. may be coming to an end.
De Blasio frequently palled around with C.K. during his first term _ but the mayor's spokesman said Thursday the comedian must explain himself after a report detailed allegations of sexual misconduct by five women.
"These are obviously troubling allegations that demand a public response and explanation," said spokesman Eric Phillips.
Louis C.K. has been one of the mayor's most famous fans, and de Blasio has returned the favor _ shepherding the funnyman to the state Financial Control Board meeting and neighborhood anti-crime events for a project he was working on.
The comedian headlined a birthday fundraiser for de Blasio's re-election campaign in Williamsburg, Brooklyn last year.
And he appeared alongside the mayor at the 2015 Inner Circle show, serving as an anger translator of sorts where he spat out the unvarnished version of de Blasio's thoughts, like, "Is there anybody more useless than a reporter? He hates those people."
A caller who identified himself as "Louis in the Village" _ and sounded an awful lot like the comedian _ called into the Brian Lehrer Show in 2015 to sing the mayor's praises.
A post about rumors of sexual misconduct by Louis C.K. was published on the Gawker Media site Defamer in 2015, but on the record allegations by multiple women were first reported by the New York Times Thursday.
