Golden Globes Winner Aziz Ansari Denies Sexual Misconduct Claim

A 23-year-old Brooklyn-based photographer accused the actor and comedian of sexual assault in 2017.

Aziz Ansari after receiving his Golden Globes award.

(Photo: AP)

Golden Globe and Emmy award winning comedian and actor, Aziz Ansari who has been accused of sexual assault by a 23-year-old Brooklyn-based photographer said he believed the encounter to be “completely consensual”.

In an official statement, he said he was “surprised and concerned” to learn that the woman felt uncomfortable after the date. Ansari who is a vocal supporter of the #MeToo campaign said, “I continue to support the movement that is happening in our culture. It is necessary and long overdue.”

In an interview with Babe, the photographer who identified herself as ‘Grace’ to protect her full identity said that she had met Ansari — the first Asian-American to win the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a comedy series, in an after-party at the 2017 Emmy Awards.

Ansari who had taken the woman’s number asked her out for a date a week after they met. Grace told Babe that she was “excited” for their date but at the end she left crying in an Uber.

She described the date as a hurried affair and when they were close to his apartment she said he invited her over and made repeated sexual advances even as she physically tried to indicate that she was not interested.

“He said something along the lines of, ‘How about you hop up and take a seat?’” Within moments, he was kissing her. “In a second, his hand was on my breast…Most of my discomfort was expressed in me pulling away and mumbling. I know that my hand stopped moving at some points,” she said. “I stopped moving my lips and turned cold,” she told Babe.

“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 said.

After the “date”, Ansari sent her a text message saying, “It was fun meeting you last night.” To this Grace responded saying, “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.” Then Ansari reportedly said he was “sad to hear this” apologizing for “misreading things in the moment”.

Interestingly, Aziz Ansari recently accepted his Golden Globes award for his Netflix Show ‘Master of None’ wearing a “Times Up” pin in support of the movement against sexual harassment founded in 2018, shortly after the Harvey Weinstein scandal.

Ansari is best known for his roles in Parks and Recreation and Master of None, which focused on relationships, gender issues and women's rights.