Comedian Aziz Ansari has been accused of sexual assault by a woman he dated last year and said that he thought his conduct was “completely consensual”.
The woman, identified only as a 22-year-old Brooklyn photographer named Grace,’ said she went to Aziz’s apartment after a dinner date on the night of September 25, 2017. They had met at an Emmys after-party the week before, she said.
“It took a really long time for me to validate this as sexual assault,” she told the magazine. “I believe that I was taken advantage of by Aziz. I was not listened to and ignored. It was by far the worst experience with a man I’ve ever had.”
The next day, the accuser stated that the former Parks and Recreationstar texted her, “Hey — it was fun meeting you last night.” With her responding, “Last night might have been fun for you but it wasn’t for me. You ignored clear non-verbal cues; you kept going with advances. I want to make sure you’re aware so maybe the next girl doesn’t have to cry on the ride home.”
Aziz supposedly replied, “I’m so sad to hear this. Clearly, I misread things in the moment and I’m truly sorry.”
The comedian further stated that he was surprised and had taken some time to process the accusations but later reached out to the woman and apologised for the hurt he had caused.
“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,” he shared.
Aziz continued, “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,” the actor concluded.
