Aziz Ansari is grateful for all the support he’s gotten from friends and family after he was accused of sexually harassing a woman he invited over for a one-night stand last year.
Aziz and the woman met at an Emmy Awards party in 2017. The 34-year-old actor is defending himself after the woman shared her side of the story in a lengthy post on Babe.net, titled “I went on a date with Aziz Ansari. It turned into the worst night of my life”.
The then 22-year-old Brooklyn photographer, who has chosen to remain anonymous, alleged she went on a date with Ansari, who proceeded to rush her through dinner and up to his apartment.
She recalls there was still wine in her glass and more left in the bottle he ordered. The abruptness surprised her. “Like, he got the check and then it was bada-boom, bada-bing, we’re out of there.”
The woman admits she and Ansari became physical after they arrived at his apartment. She expressed regret about giving Ansari oral sex, and though she said that she was uncomfortable, she never uttered the magic word “no” until the one-night stand had progressed over the line.
“He sat back and pointed to his penis and motioned for me to go down on him. And I did,” she said. “I think I just felt really pressured. It was literally the most unexpected thing I thought would happen at that moment because I told him I was uncomfortable.”
The woman claimed she told Ansari she was uncomfortable, but when he asked her if he could proceed, she gave explicit approval.
When Ansari told her he was going to grab a condom within minutes of their first kiss, Grace voiced her hesitation explicitly. “I said something like, ‘Whoa, let’s relax for a sec, let’s chill.’” She says he then resumed kissing her, briefly performed oral sex on her, and asked her to do the same thing to him. She did, but not for long. “It was really quick. Everything was pretty much touched and done within ten minutes of hooking up, except for actual sex.”
Ansari eventually gave up trying to have intercourse and called a cab for her.
After texting a multitude of friends from inside the cab, the woman decided Ansari must have sexually harassed her.
On Sunday, the Master of None comedian responded to the claims in a statement to Us Weekly, saying the one-night stand was “consensual”.
“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 afterward we ended up engaging in sexual activity, which by all indications was completely consensual.”
Ansari also noted he later learned the woman took issue with how the events of the evening unfolded.
“The next day, I got a text from her saying that although ‘it may have seemed OK,’ upon further reflection, she felt uncomfortable,” he continued. “It was true that everything did seem OK 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.”
The 34-year-old also shared his support for the #TimesUp movement against sexual misconduct.
“I continue to support the movement that is happening in our culture,” he said. “It is necessary and long overdue.”
