Indian American actor Aziz Ansari, who recently won a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series category, became the recent Hollywood star to be accused of sexual misconduct. Ansari has denied the allegations by a 23-year-old New York-based photographer.
The Master of None actor was accused of coercing a woman for engaging in sexual activity during a date. The woman said, reported Babe.Net, that they met at a party in September 2017 and exchanged numbers. She added that she felt “victimized” after the date with Ansari and that it took her a long time to “validate this as a sexual assault”.
She accused him of forcing her to engage in oral sex. “It was by far the worst experience with a man I’ve ever had,” she said alleging that he continued to act inappropriately, even after she gave hints that she was not interested.
“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 added.
Responding to the allegations made by Brooklyn-based photographer, Ansari said that the next day he 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,” he said, reported Variety.
“We went out to dinner, and afterwards we ended up engaging in sexual activity, which by all indications was completely consensual” Ansari said adding that he took her words to heart and responded privately after taking the time to process what she had said.
At the Golden Globes 2018, he had supported the Times Up Movement, spearheaded by many top Hollywood actresses, against sexual harassment. The movement came in the wake of the revelations about years of misconduct by famed producer Harvey Weinstein, and a domino effect in which many other men in public positions were accused of sexual misconduct.
“I continue to support the movement that is happening in our culture,” he said, Variety reported, “It is necessary and long overdue,” said Ansari.
Many of Ansari’s fans and others took to the social media, calling this latest revelation about Ansari “heartbreaking” and unexpected.
A lot of men will read that post about Aziz Ansari and see an everyday, reasonable sexual interaction. But part of what women are saying right now is that what the culture considers “normal” sexual encounters are not working for us, and oftentimes harmful.
— Jessica Valenti (@JessicaValenti) January 14, 2018
The Aziz Ansari stuff is a perfect demonstration of how rape culture works and how men are socialized to feel entitled to sex. No, there was no rape, but this thing where men pester women for sex and don’t let up, even when it’s clear she isn’t into it, IS RAPE CULTURE.
— Meghan Murphy (@MeghanEMurphy) January 15, 2018