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| Aziz Ansari at the Golden Globes. |
LAST WEEK Aziz Ansari was in his glory, having just won a Golden Globe as the Best Actor in a Comedy for his role in Netflix's Master of None. A week later, his star has fallen with a thud after being accused of sexual misconduct
No word from Netflix, which airs Ansari's hit show, whether or not the allegations against Ansari will affect future nominations or if Master of None will return for a third season.
Other men accused of sexual misconduct, such as Kevin Spacey, Matt Laur and Charlie Rose lost their jobs. Harvey Weinstein lost his company.
The comedian was accused of sexual misconduct by an anonymous woman in an article posted by the website Babe.net In the story, the 23-year old woman, known only by the pseudonym “Grace,” describes going out with the actor after meeting him at a party last year. She writes of going to Ansari's Manhatten apartment where he allegedly pressured her for sex, repeatedly ignoring her verbal and nonverbal cues that he should slow down. She finally yielded to the pressure to perform oral sex. Eventually, she left after asking Ansari to call her a ride home.
I don't want to minimize what happened to Grace, but what happened in Ansari's apartment and its aftermath shows that the discussion launched by #MeToo and continued by #TimesUp is not finished.
The accusation against Ansari is proof that asides from hashtags and lawsuits, men and women need a cultural seachange to redefine what is "normal" behavior between the sexes and change the power dynamics between the sexes.
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It took a delay of a couple of days after her account of her date was released, Ansari responded with this statement:
Curiously, some women came to the comedian's defense, calling the incident "a bad date."
“If you just had an unpleasant sexual experience, you should have gone home … But what you have done in my opinion is appalling,” said HLN hostess Ashleigh Banfield.
“You have chiseled away at a movement that I, along with all of my sisters in the workplace, have been dreaming of for decades, a movement that has finally changed an oversexed professional environment that I too have struggled with at times in my last 30 years in broadcasting,” she said. “
"Just because Aziz Ansari made persistent moves on a date, doesn’t mean he’s guilty of sexual misconduct. We have to save serious accusations for genuinely criminal behavior, so we don’t diminish the #MeToo movement," writes blogger Bonnie Fuller.
Daily Beast senior editor and feminist writer Erin Gloria Ryan expressed discomfort that “a detailed story of a weird hookup with a sexually inept celebrity” has become “newsworthy” and pointed out that “not everything shitty is illegal.”
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.As described in her article, Ansari kept up the pressure to have sex despite her verbal objections. The repsonse has been mostly in support of the women and condemnation of the comedian.
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.
Curiously, some women came to the comedian's defense, calling the incident "a bad date."
“If you just had an unpleasant sexual experience, you should have gone home … But what you have done in my opinion is appalling,” said HLN hostess Ashleigh Banfield.
“You have chiseled away at a movement that I, along with all of my sisters in the workplace, have been dreaming of for decades, a movement that has finally changed an oversexed professional environment that I too have struggled with at times in my last 30 years in broadcasting,” she said. “
"Just because Aziz Ansari made persistent moves on a date, doesn’t mean he’s guilty of sexual misconduct. We have to save serious accusations for genuinely criminal behavior, so we don’t diminish the #MeToo movement," writes blogger Bonnie Fuller.
Daily Beast senior editor and feminist writer Erin Gloria Ryan expressed discomfort that “a detailed story of a weird hookup with a sexually inept celebrity” has become “newsworthy” and pointed out that “not everything shitty is illegal.”
I don't want to minimize what happened to Grace, but what happened in Ansari's apartment and its aftermath shows that the discussion launched by #MeToo and continued by #TimesUp is not finished.
The accusation against Ansari is proof that asides from hashtags and lawsuits, men and women need a cultural seachange to redefine what is "normal" behavior between the sexes and change the power dynamics between the sexes.
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