Aziz Ansari issues statement following accusation of sexual misconduct

Aziz Ansari has issued a statement in response to an accusation of sexual misconduct made by an anonymous woman in a post on Babe.net. The woman, a 23 year old photographer from Brooklyn identified by the pseudonym Grace, says she met Ansari at an after-party for the 2017 Emmy Awards when she was 22. She recounts her experience on a date the two went on, that she says left her feeling “violated” and “taken advantage of,” calling it “by far the worst experience with a man I’ve ever had.”

After dinner and wine at Grand Banks, a Manhattan oyster bar aboard a boat, Grace says she accepted an invitation to Ansari’s apartment. She describes events as escalating quickly after that, and says she remembers feeling uncomfortable. She says she asked Ansari to slow down when he told her he would get a condom, saying, “I said something like, ‘Whoa, let’s relax for a sec, let’s chill.'” Following this, Grace says they briefly performed oral sex on each other. She says she used “verbal and nonverbal cues” to express her discomfort, saying, “most of my discomfort was expressed in me pulling away and mumbling. I know that my hand stopped moving at some points.” She continues, “I stopped moving my lips and turned cold.” Over the course of half an hour, she describes trying to move through Ansari’s apartment away from him, and moving her hand away from his penis after she says he put it there. “He probably moved my hand to his dick five to seven times,” she says. “He really kept doing it after I moved it away.”

Grace says Ansari continually asked her where in the apartment she wanted to have sex, and she answered, “next time.” She describes Ansari’s answer, saying, “he goes, ‘oh, you mean second date?’ And I go, ‘Oh, yeah, sure.’ And he goes, ‘well, if I poured you another glass of wine now, would it count as our second date?'” Grace says Ansari poured her more wine at that point, and she went to his bathroom, where she says she spent five minutes. When she rejoined Ansari, she says she told him, “I don’t want to feel forced because then I’ll hate you, and I’d rather not hate you.” She describes him answering, “oh, of course, it’s only fun if we’re both having fun.” and leading her to the couch. After that, she says, “he sat back and pointed to his penis and motioned for me to go down on him. And I did. 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.”

Afterwards, Grace describes Ansari continuing to ask her where she wanted to have sex, including bending her over in front of a mirror. She says, “After he bent me over is when I stood up and said no, I don’t think I’m ready to do this, I really don’t think I’m going to do this. And he said, ‘How about we just chill, but this time with our clothes on?'” She describes receiving more “gross, forceful kisses” from Ansari, and says he tried to undo her pants after they’d gotten dressed. Soon after, she got up to leave. She concludes, “I cried the whole ride home. At that point I felt violated. That last hour was so out of my hand.”

Grace says Ansari texted her after the encounter, saying, “It was fun meeting you last night.” She responded, “last night might’ve been fun for you, but it wasn’t for me. You ignored clear non-verbal cues; you kept going with advances.” Ansari, Grace says, replied, “I’m so sad to hear this. Clearly, I misread things in the moment and I’m truly sorry.” Read the full report on Babe.net.

In a statement made through a representative, Ansari reiterated that apology, saying, “I took her words to heart.” Regarding the #MeToo movement, he said, “I continue to support the movement that is happening in our culture. It is necessary and long overdue.” Read Ansari’s statement in full below.

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.

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.