US comedian Louis CK has admitted allegations against him of sexual misconduct are true and apologised for his actions.

“These stories are true,” he said in a statement emailed to Reuters and other news outlets.

Five women detailed sexual misconduct allegations against the Emmy-winning comedian in a New York Times report published on Thursday, including three women who said he had masturbated in front of them. The allegations dated back 15 years.

CK released his statement after his upcoming film I Love You, Daddy was scrapped for release on Friday, and Netflix cancelled a planned special with the comedian because of the allegations.

Television network FX, a unit of 21st Century Fox, also severed its ties with CK.

“He will no longer serve as executive producer or receive compensation on any of the four shows we were producing with him – Better Things, Baskets, One Mississippi and The Cops,” FX Networks and FX productions said on Friday in an emailed statement.

CK said in his statement that he has “been remorseful of my actions”.

“And I’ve tried to learn from them. And run from them. Now I’m aware of the extent of the impact of my actions. I learned yesterday the extent to which I left these women who admired me feeling badly about themselves,” his statement said.

He is the latest celebrity in the entertainment business to be accused of sexual misconduct in the wake of allegations against movie producer Harvey Weinstein and actor Kevin Spacey.

CK, 50, said he had “spent my long and lucky career talking and saying anything I want. I will now step back and take a long time to listen”.

He did not make clear how long he would be stepping back for.

The comedian, best known for his TV comedy series Louie, acknowledged he had misused used his power over the women, who were in the early stage of their careers at the time.

Two of the women in the New York Times article, comedians Dana Min Goodman and Julia Wolov, said CK had invited them to his hotel room after a comedy festival in Aspen, Colorado, in 2002 and then masturbated in front of them.

“The power I had over these women is that they admired me. And I wielded that power irresponsibly,” CK said, adding that he thought it was OK to show his genitals to women if he asked them first.

“You asked but we never said yes,” Goodman and Wolov tweeted on Friday after his apology.

Time Warner Inc’s HBO said on Thursday that CK’s past projects with the network, including 2006’s Lucky Louie series, would be removed from its on-demand services and that the comedian would no longer participate in its November 18 televised Night of Too Many Stars: America Unites for Autism Programs.

– AAP