In his opening speech for The Golden Globes, Seth Meyers joked that “It’s 2018. Marijuana is finally allowed and sexual harassment finally isn’t.”
The audience that night laughed and cheered at the comment from the comedian, as it reflects the #TimesUp and #MeToo movement that is currently shaking up Hollywood.
Aziz Ansari was one of the people in the audience. He picked up a Golden Globe win for Best Actor in a Drama for his portrayal of Dev in Netflix's "Master of None." He was also wearing a #TimesUp pin, which is ironic considering the new allegations against the actor.
The allegations
Katie Way from Babe.net recently spoke with a 23-year-old photographer from Brooklyn who has come forward with sexual assault allegations against Ansari. For the sake of anonymity, the woman is named “Grace” in this article, and recalls her time with Ansari as “the worst night of her life.”
Grace details the assault that happened almost four months ago in New York City in the article. She says that she initially met the “Master of None” star at an Emmys afterparty in 2017. After flirting over camera equipment and continuously “locking eyes,” they took a few photos together and Ansari asked for her number. Sounds normal, right? Grace explains that at this point, she was excited to be seen by someone she admires in the Entertainment industry.
She had no idea her night would end with her crying in the Uber on the way home.
What happened?
A week of flirty texts were exchanged, and Grace and Aziz went on a date. She noted that their dinner date was cut short, as the actor was obviously very eager to leave the restaurant and get to his apartment.
Once they were inside, Grace says that Ansari began making aggressive sexual advances, including putting his fingers in her mouth before inserting them into private parts.
Grace recalls the comedian repeatedly forcing her hand on his privates and suggesting they engage in intercourse, despite the fact that she had been expressing how uncomfortable she was both verbally and non-verbally.
After excusing herself to the bathroom in an attempt to come to terms with what was happening, Grace collected herself and told him she didn't “want it to feel forced” because she’d “hate him.”
Is it over?
Grace claims that Ansari then apologized, noting that it’s not fun if they’re not “both having fun.” She agreed to hang out with him on his couch, but after joining him, she realized it was not over yet.
Ansari almost immediately moved her to a position for her to give him oral.
What was supposed to be “chilling on the couch with [their] clothes on” ended up as a continuation of Ansari’s forceful behavior. Grace says he continued kissing her and forcing his fingers into her throat whilst attempting to take off her pants.
Eventually having enough, she got up from the couch and told the actor that she was going to call a taxi. After one last “aggressive kiss,” Ansari called her an Uber and she left in tears.
Grace says she was shocked by the behavior, as the comedian has made a reputation for himself of actually respecting women. In fact, a storyline of a similar matter was the central plot in a Season 2 episode of “Master of None,” a tv show which Ansari writes, directs, and stars in.
He has also gone on talk shows such as The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon speaking publicly about his activism in the Feminist movement.
It wasn’t until Grace saw the actor sporting the #TimesUp pin when he won his award for Best Actor at the 2018 Golden Globes that she knew she had to speak out about her experiences.
Ansari reached out to Grace the day after their meeting. Babe.net posted their encounter on Instagram:
Public backlash
With this story trending on Twitter, many fans of Ansari are left questioning if this story is really true or not, as his public persona is that of the “respectful nice guy.”
It's interesting to witness women reading this story and instantly knowing right away the boundaries that were crossed - while men see nothing wrong with Aziz Ansari's behavior and say it's just ~mixed messages~
— Vice Admiral Laura Dern (@ashcech) January 14, 2018
The thing about the Aziz Ansari allegations is that A LOT of men, even at 34, don’t understand that unless it’s an enthusiastic and obvious “YES” it’s not consensual. Coercion is not consent. Just because she didn’t kick and scream and claw your face off you think it’s fine.
— Rayana Dgi🥧🔮🎀 (@RayanaDonn) January 14, 2018
I wish the Aziz Ansari story was shocking. It’s not, and I know plenty of women have had similar experiences (myself included) #TimesUp
— Ashley Alese Edwards (@AshleyAlese) January 14, 2018
What do you think? Do you think he crossed boundaries?