Aziz Ansari Reflects on Sexual Misconduct Allegations in Netflix Special: ‘Ultimately, I Felt Terrible’
Aziz Ansari‘s newest comedy special hit Netflix on Tuesday, and he wasted no time addressing the elephant in the room.
Less than five minutes into Aziz Ansari: Right Now, the comedian acknowledged the sexual misconduct allegations that were leveled against him more than a year ago, admitting that he “just felt terrible” that his accuser felt she’d been violated by him.
To refresh your memory: In January 2018, a 23-year-old woman using the pseudonym Grace posted an article on the now-defunct Babe.net, detailing a date with Ansari that ended in an uncomfortable — and, by her account, nonconsensual — sexual encounter with the actor. After the article was published, Ansari said in a statement that “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.”
Ansari shared a similar sentiment with his Right Now audience, noting that “I felt so many things in the last year or so” after the allegations came to light.
“There’s times I felt scared, there’s times I felt humiliated, there’s times I felt embarrassed. And ultimately, I just felt terrible that this person felt this way,” he shared, speaking in a hushed voice. “And after a year or so, I just hope it was a step forward. It moved things forward for me, made me think about a lot. I hope I’ve become a better person.”
The Master of None star said he’s also had meaningful conversations with others about issues of consent: “I always think about a conversation I had with one of my friends where he was like, ‘You know what, man? That whole thing made me think about every date I’ve ever been on.’ And I thought, ‘Wow. Well, that’s pretty incredible.’ If this made not just me, but other people, be more thoughtful, then that’s a good thing, and that’s how I feel about it.”
Ansari then brought some levity to the moment, acknowledging that “this isn’t the most hilarious way to begin a comedy show. But it’s important to me that you know how I feel about that whole thing before we share this night together.”
Aziz Ansari: Right Now is currently available to stream on Netflix. What did you think of his response to the controversy?
Why is TVLine incorrectly labeling the situation “Sexual Assault Allegations”?
By her own account, the woman “was physically giving off cues that I wasn’t interested” yet kept hooking up with him. When she finally said she didn’t want to feel forced, he agreed and said, “Oh, of course, it’s only fun if we’re both having fun,” and then she stayed, continued to hook up with him, and then watched TV with him.
How is that sexual assault? If she chose to hooking up with him, how is that his fault? She didn’t even claim it was assault. Throwing the term “sexual assault” around carelessly does a huge disservice to people who have actually been assaulted.
Because the woman alleged she sexually assaulted her. Whether you agree that it was sexual assault is irrelevant, that was the allegation she made. For the record I do not believed he sexually assaulted that woman, but he doesn’t come off as great guy in the encounter. I find it refreshing that he at least addressed the allegations and talked about self reflection. More people should do that when stories like these come out.
The terminology has been corrected.
Not only that, but it’s not as rare as people think to have difficulty understanding body language. I’m autistic and always try to make it clear that I don’t easily pick up on social cues, but stories like Aziz literally make me avoid people to avoid the risk of miscommunication. My psychologist even gave me a diagnosis of social phobia.
Bingo. People who never read the original post label it sexual assault. By her own account, she had an awkward date and it ended the second she said stop. The way the article was framed by its writer and made viral, though, you’d think much worse.
reminder: just because someone is accused – DOES NOT mean they are automatically guilty — especially when the accuser is anonymous and refuses to allow anyone to do any follow up interviews or questions — and especially when they make accusations to a publication – but than never file a police report??
yes believe accusers — but also ask questions and don’t just take everything at face value – especially when the site reporting this “story” had many internal problems of their own AND …. when Rupert Murdoch is involved ……
search: tab media, babe, Rupert Murdoch, $4 million — before the $4 million investment – Tab Media (based in the UK) was nothing and the owners were even shocked & surprised by Rupert’s out of nowhere investment …. quickly the company expanded to the U.S. – headquartered in NY and in a year broke a “major” story on Aziz …. than a year later after the Aziz story broke … the whole company was shut down for lack of investors
1 – put all the “salacious” details for the original accusation aside and question EVERYTHING before he ever met the still anonymous woman who accused him
2 – this woman … a recent college grad from NY ….. was supposedly randomly invited to the EMMYS … in Los Angeles … even though she didn’t work in the entertainment industry …. and she a 22 year old … just happened … to OWN & bring a 1980s style camera with her to the EMMYS … what 22 year old would do that ??? instead of just using a cell phone for pics?
3 – WHO invited her and paid for her trip to Los Angeles, etc ?
4 – at the party they met at …. she approached him … and supposedly said “oh I recognized the flash from your camera” …. yeah cause that makes sense at a huge party with flashes going off everywhere??
5 – Rupert Murdoch was an investor in Babe … and Tab Media … the site that “broke” this story …. about a year after Aziz insulted Rupert Murdoch on Twitter … look it up
note: the accuser of Aziz – never went to the police … because if she did – the police would have started asking EXACTLY the same questions – I included above — and it’s likely some of her story would start becoming questionable
especially – WHO invited her to the EMMYS in Los Angeles ….. and I wouldn’t be surprised if it was someone with ties to FOX owned company &/ or indirectly with connections to Rupert Murdoch
as well I wouldn’t be surprised if this woman had no way to prove where she bought that EXACT same old style camera that Aziz just happens to own …. and at most — she had only gotten it right before she went to that EMMY party in 2017