Aziz Ansari has acknowledged that a sexual encounter occurred between him and his anonymous accuser but maintained it was “completely consensual”.
The actor and comedian was, in a Sunday issue of the online magazine Babe, accused of sexual misconduct by a 23-year-old photographer from Brooklyn, New York.
The lady, named only as “Grace”, said the incident occurred in September 2017, a week after the Emmy Awards party where she met Ansari.
She said the award-winning actor invited her to dinner after which they went to Ansari’s apartment where he made repeated advances towards her, and ignoring her “verbal and non-verbal cues” indicating she did not want to have sex with him.
“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 told Babe.
“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,” she added.
In a statement Sunday, Ansari acknowledged the encounter with the woman to Babe.
“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,” he wrote.
He said he has since responded privately to “Grace” and stated his continued support for #MeToo campaign against sexual misconduct describing it as “necessary and long overdue.”
