Louis C.K. is buying I Love You, Daddy back from distributor

One of the most controversial titles out of the Toronto Film Festival is back in the hands of its maker once again. EW has confirmed that disgraced actor-director Louis C.K. is nearing a deal to retain all rights to his latest film, I Love You, Daddy.

Initially purchased out of the September festival for $5 million by indie distributor The Orchard, I Love You, Daddy was initially set to hit theaters on Nov. 17; when reports of Louis C.K.’s alleged sexual misconduct broke via a Nov. 9 New York Times exposé, however, the company definitively pulled the project from its schedule.

The Times story includes accounts from five women who claim Louis C.K. either masturbated in front of them or during conversations with them over the phone. He later confirmed reports of his behavior to be true; in the days that followed, Netflix canceled an upcoming stand-up special, HBO cut all of his content from its On Demand library, and FX — the network behind Louis C.K.-affiliated shows including Louie and Better Things — severed ties to any of his projects.

“At the time, I said to myself that what I did was okay because I never showed a woman my dick without asking first, which is also true. 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,” Louis C.K.’s statement reads. “It’s a predicament for them. The power I had over these women is that they admired me. And I wielded that power irresponsibly. I have been remorseful of my actions. And I’ve tried to learn from them.”

I Love You, Daddy was financed, co-written, and directed by Louis C.K. and shot in 35mm black-and-white across 20 days in New York City earlier this summer. The film stars Rose Byrne, Chloë Grace Moretz, John Malkovich, Pamela Adlon, Charlie Day, Edie Falco, and Louis C.K. himself. The film follows a 17-year-old who forms a romantic attachment to a 68-year-old director, and stirred controversy prior to allegations against the filmmaker for his character’s use of the N-word and jokes about child rape.

A representative for C.K. did not return EW’s request for comment.