Sarah Silverman has spoken out about the allegations of sexual misconduct against Louis CK, a long-time friend, asking whether it is possible to “love someone who did bad things”.

CK, whose stage name is derived from the phonetic spelling of Székely, his real surname, was accused by five women of masturbating in their presence, over the phone, or asking if he could.

He responded by admitting that the allegations "were true", as a string of media companies cut ties with him and the release of his new film, I Love You, Daddy, was cancelled.

Recording a monologue ahead of the latest episode of her new show, I Love You, America, the comedian said she is “very angry for the women he wronged and the culture that enabled it and also sad – because he’s my friend”.

Silverman said: “I’ve of course been asked to comment, and in full honestly I really, really don’t want to. I wish I could sit this one out.

“But if it’s mentionable, it’s manageable. So I’m going to address the elephant masturbating in the room.

“He wielded his power with women in f*cked up ways , sometimes to the point where they left comedy entirely.

“I could couch this with heart-warming stories of our friendship and what a great dad he is, but that’s totally irrelevant, isn’t it?

“Yes, it is. It’s a real mind f*ck because I love Louis, but Louis did these things. But both of those statements are true, so I just keep asking myself: Can you love someone who did bad things? Can you still love them?”

Silverman and CK have been friends since debuting on the stand-up comedy circuit at around the same time and in 2012 she appeared in an episode of his TV sitcom, Louie.

On November 10, following the revelations published by the New York Times, Silverman’s sister, Laura Silverman, who dated CK, alleged on Twitter that he masturbated in front of her about 25 years ago.

She insisted she was not a victim of sexual misconduct.