Actor-Comedian Aziz Ansari has responded to an accusation of sexual assault by saying he had believed the encounter to be “completely consensual”.
Over the weekend, Babe magazine published a detailed account from a 23-year-old woman, under the pseudonym Grace, who said she felt “victimised” after a date with Ansari. The article contained lengthy alleged details of the pair’s date last year.
Grace told Babe that she met the Master of None comedian at a party after the Emmy Awards last September, where the two flirted and took photos of each other, and he asked for her phone number. She says they exchanged texts when she returned home to Brooklyn and went on a date a little more than a week later.
She continued that after a quick dinner, they returned to his apartment, where he undressed her and pressured her into engaging in oral sex, suggesting that he get a condom.
“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,” she told Babe.
“I said ‘I don’t want to feel forced because then I’ll hate you, and I’d rather not hate you,’” she says she told Ansari.
The woman shared screenshots with Babe of a text conversation she says took place the day after the incident, in which she wrote, “I just want to take this moment to make you aware of this behaviour and how uneasy it made me.”
To this, Aziz supposedly replied, “I’m so sad to hear this. Clearly, I misread things in the moment and I’m truly sorry.”
She said it had taken her a long time to “validate this as a sexual assault” and that she had dismissed and forgotten about the incident until she saw Ansari at the Golden Globes last week wearing the Time’s Up pin.
On Sunday, the actor issued a statement, sent to USA Today via his representative, saying he reached out to the woman “after taking time to process” her accusations.
Ansari has said he “took her words to heart”.
He said the woman later told him in her text that “on 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,” he said.
“I took her words to heart and responded privately after taking time to process what she had said.”
Ansari, 34, is a stand-up comedian, writer and actor. He has a Golden Globe and an Emmy for his series, Master of None.
Much of his comedy and TV work has focused on relationships, gender issues and women’s rights, and he has been a vocal supporter of the Me Too movement against sexual assault and inappropriate sexual behaviour in the entertainment industry.
In his statement, he said: “I continue to support the movement that is happening in our culture. It is necessary and long overdue.”
