After addressing the sexual misconduct claim against him in a 2019 Netflix stand-up special, Aziz Ansari is now confronting the backlash.
In 2018, in the midst of Hollywood’s #MeToo movement, an anonymous accuser recounted a date with Ansari that left her feeling “violated.” After an initial statement detailing his surprise and concern at the allegations, the comedian next addressed the incident in 2019 while touring the country with stand-up material eventually filmed for his Netflix special, Aziz Ansari: Right Now. A second wave of backlash ensued, as Ansari was criticized for acknowledging the claims without offering a public apology.
Addressing the outrage now, Ansari told The Hollywood Reporter that there was an apology, but it was not for public consumption. “I mean, I apologized to the person personally, right? When it happened,” he said.
Netflix Aziz Ansari in his Netflix special ‘Aziz Ansari: Right Now’
Ansari then shut down the idea that he stepped back from the spotlight following the accusation, pointing out that he was back on the road for his stand-up special within months.
“It wasn’t really a break, per se,” he said. “I did that tour, and I wanted to address it in the special because people were curious about how I felt about the whole experience. So I felt like I had to talk about it in the special.”
The accusation was published in a story on the now-defunct Babe.net, in which a young woman wrote about a date with Ansari that allegedly ended with her feeling “pressured” to engage in sexual activity with him. In his statement at the time, Ansari said he that while he took the interaction to be “completely consensual,” he was “surprised and concerned” to learn via text the next day that the woman “felt uncomfortable” with what transpired.
He continued, “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.”
Ansari would ultimately reiterate this on tour. Entertainment Weekly was in the audience for his first stop in Los Angeles, where he addressed the allegation and reflected on the backlash that followed.
“There’s times I’ve felt scared. There’s times I’ve felt humiliated. There’s times I’ve felt embarrassed. And ultimately, I just felt terrible that this person felt this way. And after a year or so, I just hope it was a step forward,” he said. “It moved things forward for me and made me think about a lot. I hope I become a better person.”
He continued, “I always think about a conversation I had with one of my friends where he was like, ‘You know what, man? That whole thing made me think about every date I’ve ever been on.’ And I thought, ‘Wow. Well, that’s pretty incredible. It’s made, not just me, but other people be more thoughtful, and that’s a good thing.'”
Eddy Chen/Lionsgate
Keanu Reeves, Seth Rogen, and Aziz Ansari in ‘Good Fortune’
Ansari may not have slowed down productivity amid the backlash, but in some ways, he did take a step back from the spotlight. After two seasons as the star of his Netflix series Master of None, he receded behind the camera for the third, directing and co-writing all five episodes.
Ansari also penned the script for Being Mortal, intended to mark his feature directorial debut before star Bill Murray was accused of inappropriate behavior on set. Searchlight Pictures swiftly halted production and, per a report published by Puck, Murray and the woman ultimately came to a settlement with the former paying the latter “just north of $100,000.”
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Ansari, who had a rough version of another film, Good Fortune, ready on his laptop, decided to pivot. “Everybody’s texting me, ‘Oh, Aziz, I’m so sorry,'” he recalled to THR. “And I said, ‘Oh God, I can’t live in this woe-is-me moment.’ So I called Seth [Rogen]. I said, ‘Hey, I know you’re supposed to be filming Being Mortal, so you’re free today. This is a s—ty day for me. If you want to help me, read this, tell me if you want to do it.'”
Rogen said an instant yes, and now stars alongside Keanu Reeves, Keke Palmer, Sanda Oh, and Ansari, who also directed, in the movie about an inept guardian angel trying to help a down-on-his-luck gig worker.
Good Fortune arrives in theaters Oct. 17.
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