Aziz Ansari Sexual Misconduct Allegation

Overview

Aziz Ansari Sexual Misconduct Allegation refers to an anonmyously account written by a woman who accused comedian Aziz Ansari of sexual misconduct following a date the two had in New York City. After the allegation was published on the women's interest site Babe.net in mid-January 2018, an online debate was sparked over whether Ansari's actions could be considered sexual misconduct.

Background

On January 13th, 2018, Babe^[1] published an anonymous account written by a woman identifying herself as the pseudonym "Grace," who accused Ansari of sexual misconduct in an article titled "I went on a date with Aziz Ansari. It turned into the worst night of my life." In the account, the woman describes meeting Ansari at a Los Angeles party and subsequently having dinner with him at a later date in New York. Following dinner, the two returned to Ansari's apartment, where they engaged in oral sex with one another, though she claimed to have felt uncomfortable and pressured with the experience.

Developments

Online Reaction

That day, the article reached the front page of various subreddits, including /r/WeinsteinEffect,^[3] /r/The_Donald^[4] and /r/GamerGhazi.^[5]

On January 14th, the official @babedotnet Twitter feed tweeted a video of text messages between the woman and Ansari (shown below).

Aziz Ansari's Response

Also on January 14th, Ansari released a statement addressing the allegations, in which he claimed all sexual interactions with the woman were "completely consensual" (shown 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."

News Media Coverage

Meanwhile, The Atlantic^[2] published an article titled "The Humiliation of Aziz Ansari," in which she referred to the anonymous account as "3,000 words of revenge porn" and lamented how the article "may have destroyed Ansari’s career, which is now the punishment for every kind of male sexual misconduct, from the grotesque to the disappointing." That day, the article reached the front page of /r/television.^[6] That evening, The New York Times^[8] published an op-ed by writer Bari Weiss titled "Aziz Ansari Is Guilty. Of Not Being a Mind Reader." Also on January 15th, The Washington Post^[9] published an op-ed by writer Sonny Bunch titled "Babe’s Aziz Ansari piece was a gift to anyone who wants to derail #MeToo." That evening, HLN host Ashleigh Banfield accused Grace of undermining the #MeToo movement (shown below).

On January 16th, the controversy was discussed during an episode of The View
(shown below). That day, Vox^[7] published an article titled "The Aziz Ansari story is ordinary. That’s why we have to talk about it," which argued that Grace's experience was the result of misogynist cultural values regarding consent.

Return to Standup Comedy

On February 12th, 2019, Vulture^[10] published a story on Aziz Ansari and a recent string of standup comedy performances that he began in September 2018, his first since the publication of the Babe.net report. In the article, Ansari addresses the allegations, which he described as "a terrifying thing to talk about." He said, "There were times I felt really upset and humiliated and embarrassed, and ultimately I just felt terrible this person felt this way. But you know, after a year, how I feel about it is, I hope it was a step forward. It made me think about a lot, and I hope I've become a better person."^[11]

People online reacted positively, in many cases, to Ansari's comments. Twitter^[12] user @emfish55 tweeted, "After all the hand wringing over whether the Ansari story meant #MeToo had gone 'too far', here is Ansari saying that he thinks it helped him and others gain important perspective. Nice to see him address it directly." The tweet received more than 395 retweets and 1,900 likes in 24 hours (shown below, left).

New York magazine editor Anna Silman tweeted,^[13] "last night at his show in nyc, aziz addressed the sexual misconduct allegations against him in a really thoughtful way. i wish more men would do the same." The tweet received more than 1,000 retweets and 4,800 likes in 24 hours (shown below, center).

Some, however, were not convinced. Film critic Alan Zilberman tweeted,^[14] "Before we get ahead of ourselves in praising Ansari, consider: 1. The selection problem of his audience 2. The extreme power/control he wields over them (as is the nature of the medium) 3. The low bar he needs to clear." The tweet received more than 150 retweets and 865 likes in 24 hours (shown below, right).

Search Interest

External References