Actor Aziz Ansari has responded to a new account accusing him of sexual assault.
She is only referred to by a first name and profession—Grace (an alias), a photographer—the woman said that she met Ansari at a public event and they exchanged numbers. Soon after, they went on a date together.
After the dinner they shared, he invited her up to his apartment, and things became physical. But the woman said she got increasingly uncomfortable and alleged that she used verbal and nonverbal cues that she wasn’t interested.
She eventually left the apartment but felt violated, and told Ansari via text that she wanted “to make you aware of this behavior and how uneasy it made me.”
“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 afterward we ended up engaging in sexual activity, which by all indications was completely consensual,” Ansari said.
“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.”
