Aziz Ansari addressed the sexual misconduct allegations he received recently through the online publication called Babe and an anonymous 23-year-old photographer.
The Golden Globe winning actor and comedian was accused by the woman of being the "worst experience with a man [she’d] ever had." To act as proof of her statement, the woman had friends of hers collaborate and came forward with photos and texts after their date.
She says that the two met at an Emmys after-party, bonded over camera film, went on a date, went back to his place, and then things turned sour.
She says Ansari came on strong at that point and aggressively tried to have sex with her. While in the middle of kissing and foreplay, the woman says she tried to physically show her discomfort.
In her words, she showed this "in [her] pulling away and mumbling. I know that my hand stopped moving at some points. I stopped moving my lips and turned cold. I know I was physically giving off cues that I wasn’t interested. I don’t think that was noticed at all, or if it was, it was ignored."
Then, Ansari brought up the topic of them having sex and she rejected him. He then suggested they put their clothes back on. The woman notes that he tried to bring up the topic of sex a little later (and even tried to undo her pants), but she again declined and left.
In the original post published by Babe, the woman then included a text conversation shared between the two the next day.
"Hey – it was fun meeting you last night,” he said. "Last night might've been fun for you. It wasn't fun for me," she responded, "You ignored clear non-verbal cues" and "kept going with advances." "I’m so sad to hear this,” Ansari responded. “Clearly, I misread things in the moment and I’m truly sorry."
Now, Aziz Ansari has reached out to The Fader to share his statement and perspective on the situation.
In September of last year, I met a woman at a party. We exchanged numbers. We texted back and forth and eventually went on a date. We went out to dinner, and afterwards we ended up engaging in sexual activity, which by all indications was completely consensual.
The next day, I got a text from her saying that although “it may have seemed okay,” upon further reflection, she felt uncomfortable. It was true that everything did seem okay to me, so when I heard that it was not the case for her, I was surprised and concerned. I took her words to heart and responded privately after taking the time to process what she had said.
I continue to support the movement that is happening in our culture. It is necessary and long overdue.
-Aziz Ansari
This sounds like a classic he
This sounds like a classic he said/she said situation. I don't think it is as troubling, but if you are accused, don't speak about your support of "Time's Up."
I sincerely hope Aziz Ansari learned how 2 recognized women “NO signals!” 🤔🤨 – Grey