Comedian Aaron Glaser: UCB Ban, Defamation Suit, and Dismissal

Aaron Glaser is a New York comedian who was permanently banned from the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in August 2016 after multiple women accused him of rape. He denied the allegations, was never criminally charged based on public reporting, and later filed two lawsuits tied to the fallout. Both failed: he dropped a $38 million defamation case against another comedian in 2017, and a federal judge dismissed his reverse-discrimination suit against UCB in 2019.

The Allegations and the UCB Ban

Glaser had performed and taught at UCB for roughly a decade and hosted sold-out monthly stand-up shows at its venues before August 2016.¹ That month, a woman posted in a private Facebook group for women in comedy alleging that Glaser had been “raping women in the comedy community for years.”² At least four women had reportedly brought allegations to UCB before the information spread more widely.³ One anonymous comedian told the website Revelist that she had drinks with Glaser, believed she had been drugged, and woke up in his apartment during nonconsensual sex.

On August 12, 2016, UCB artistic director Shannon O’Neill and managing director Alex Sidtis called Glaser to the theater’s Manhattan offices. According to his later court filings, they told him he had been accused of “one or more rapes” prior to 2011 and that, after an internal investigation, he was being permanently banned from all UCB properties and shows in New York and California.⁴ Several other New York comedy venues followed and also banned him.³ Glaser has consistently denied the allegations. As of August 2016 it was unclear whether any accuser intended to pursue criminal charges, and no criminal charges have been publicly reported.⁵

The $38 Million Defamation Suit Against Jasmine Pierce

In late 2016 Glaser sued Jasmine Pierce, a comedian and writer for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, for $38 million after she referred to him as a “rapist” on Facebook.⁶ The complaint alleged defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and prima facie tort.⁷ Pierce moved to dismiss, arguing her statements were protected opinion “based on her own surmise of the reported facts” and covered by qualified privilege on a matter of public interest.⁸

Glaser dropped the case on September 1, 2017, telling Jezebel he had run out of money. He said he had filed partly to clear his reputation and partly to force discovery from UCB about its internal investigation.²

The Federal Suit Against UCB and Its Dismissal

On February 4, 2018, Glaser sued UCB in the Southern District of New York, together with O’Neill and Sidtis individually. The case was docketed as Glaser v. Upright Citizens Brigade, LLC, No. 18-CV-971.⁹ The complaint alleged negligence, gender discrimination, wrongful termination, a hostile work environment, retaliation, and Title IX violations, claiming UCB operated under a “believe all women” policy that amounted to reverse discrimination.² According to the suit, O’Neill had labeled him a “privileged white man” and decided “he must be guilty because he looks like other people who have been guilty of crimes in the past.”¹ The complaint further alleged that Glaser was never formally questioned during the investigation, was denied a hearing, received no documentation of the findings, and had no opportunity to appeal.

UCB said it “puts the safety and wellbeing of its community first” and would “vigorously defend” the suit.²

On March 28, 2019, a Manhattan federal judge granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss the amended complaint. The court found that Glaser was not an employee of UCB. The compensation he cited, such as free drinks, was not enough to establish an employment relationship, and without employee status his discrimination claims could not proceed.¹⁰ The decision was reported as Glaser v. Upright Citizens Brigade, LLC, 377 F. Supp. 3d 387 (S.D.N.Y. 2019).⁴ Both of Glaser’s lawsuits ended without any recovery.

The Kurt Metzger and Amy Schumer Spillover

The Glaser ban became a broader public controversy when Kurt Metzger, then a writer for Comedy Central’s Inside Amy Schumer, sarcastically mocked the accusers on Facebook and criticized them for reporting to comedy venues rather than police. He wrote that they didn’t go to authorities because they were “too brave” and that UCB had “psionically projected into the mind of the rapist and determined he was guilty.”¹¹ Metzger called his critics “the stupidest people alive” and changed his Twitter bio to read “proud cuck and rape apologist,” later issuing a partial apology for his “inflammatory language.”¹²

Under pressure to respond, Amy Schumer tweeted on August 17, 2016, that she was “so saddened and disappointed” in Metzger and “couldn’t be more against his recent actions,” clarifying that he was no longer writing on her show because it was not in production.¹¹ Metzger later claimed on Facebook that she had only distanced herself because he told her to.¹²

1
New York Post. Comic Sues Upright Citizens Brigade for Reverse Gender Discrimination
2
Jezebel. Comic Accused of Rape Sues UCB for Reverse Gender Discrimination
3
HuffPost. Comedians Sexual Assault
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vLex. Glaser v. Upright Citizens Brigade
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New York Daily News. Improv Comedian Aaron Glaser Banned From Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre Amid Rape Allegations
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The Cut. Comic Sues UCB After Being Banned for Alleged Sexual Assault
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Anti-SLAPP Project. A Comedian Called Out an Alleged Rapist and Was Sued for $38 Million
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Jezebel. A Comedian Called Out an Alleged Rapist and Was Sued for $38 Million
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Bloomberg Law. Comedy Group’s Assault Inquiry Sketchy, Fired Performer Says
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Law360. Male Comic’s Gender Bias Lawsuit Bombs in Federal Court
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Variety. Amy Schumer Responds to Kurt Metzger Sexual Assault Controversy
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NBC News. Ex-Amy Schumer Writer’s Rants on Rape Spark Firestorm