Louis C.K. donates $30,000 to comedy club staff relief fund

Disgraced funnyman Louis C.K. has pledged $30,000 (£24,000) to a coronavirus relief fund to aid staff at New York City's fabled Comedy Cellar.

Comedian Mike Birbiglia recently set up a GoFundMe campaign to provide financial support for wait staff left out of work by the club's forced shutdown due to the COVID-19 outbreak, and initially set the target at $50,000 (£40,000).

However, donations have flooded in from club regulars and a string of stand-up stars, including Louis C.K., who pitched in $10,000 (£8,000) for the cause earlier this month.

And on Wednesday, he chipped in another $20,000 (£16,000), according to the New York Post's Page Six.

The Secret Life of Pets star has long been a fixture on the Comedy Cellar stage, and featured the club in the intro for his comedy series Louie.

He even chose the famed venue to relaunch his career in August, 2018 following his 2017 sexual misconduct scandal.

Louis C.K. isn't the only famous name to pledge funds to the club - Saturday Night Live star Michael Che, who lost his grandmother to the coronavirus, donated $5,000 (£4,000), while rocker John Mayer is handing over $2,500 (£2,000).

Sarah Silverman, T.J. Miller, Jeff Garlin, Dave Attell, and Michelle Wolf are among the other celebrity donors, who have helped to swell the relief fund (https://www.gofundme.com/f/tip-your-waitstaff-the-comedy-cellar) to over $104,000 (£83,700).