A woman's account of feeling sexually 'violated' by comedian Aziz Ansari has sparked the first big debate around the #MeToo movement by Carrie Wittmer on Jan 16, 2018, 3:52 PM Advertisement
 - An anonymous woman accused comedian Aziz Ansari of continually trying to have sex with her after a date in September 2017, though "she used verbal and non-verbal cues to indicate how uncomfortable and distressed" she was, according to a report in the publication Babe.
- Ansari said in a statement that from his perspective all indications were that the encounter was "completely consensual."
- The report sparked a lot of controversy over the weekend after The Atlantic and The New York Times published op-eds in defense of Ansari.
- Babe also got some criticism for publishing the account, but the editor-in-chief defended its decision.
Over the weekend, the publication Babe ran a detailed report featuring a claim, from an anonymous woman, that Golden Globe and Emmy winner Aziz Ansari repeatedly tried to get her to have sex with him, though "she used verbal and non-verbal cues to indicate how uncomfortable and distressed" she was. The account has since gone viral and drawn op-eds from major publications including The New York Times and The Atlantic, which have gotten both criticism and support for their defense of Ansari. The story, titled "I went on a date with Aziz Ansari. It turned into the worst night of my life," is written in the third person, though the title suggests it's written in the first. The woman, a 23-year-old photographer, told Babe that Ansari continually tried to have sex with her, even though she gave cues she wasn't interested. She said that when she left the encounter she "felt violated" and used the term "sexual assault." Ansari said in a statement that from his point of view, all indications were that the encounter was "completely consensual." The 34-year-old comedian, who wore a "Time's Up" pin at the Golden Globes (where he won for best actor in a comedy series for his work on "Master of None"), has received praise for his support of women in the past. One specific area of praise was for a season two episode of "Master of None," which shows the aftermath of sexual harassment allegations surfacing online. In the episode, Ansari's character is shocked to find out his colleague and friend was capable of such behavior. A lot has happened since the Ansari story surfaced on Saturday — from support of Ansari to debate over whether his actions constitute "sexual assault" — so we collected everything you need to know about it here. SEE ALSO: 7 actors who have publicly disavowed Woody Allen or donated their salaries to charity after working on his movies On Saturday, the publication Babe posted a story detailing an anonymous woman's alleged disturbing sexual encounter with Ansari.  The woman, a 23-year-old photographer, met Ansari at the 2017 Emmy Awards. He gave her his number, and they flirted over text for about a week before going on a date in New York City. The woman, named "Grace" in the story, told Babe that when they got back to Ansari's Tribeca apartment, he made his move while she was sitting on his kitchen counter. “I said something like, ‘Whoa, let’s relax for a sec, let’s chill.’" But Grace said that he continued kissing her, and performed oral sex on her. She performed oral sex on him as well. Grace also said that, throughout the night, Ansari moved her hand onto his penis multiple times. “He really kept doing it after I moved it away," she said. Throughout the night, Ansari kept trying to have sex with her, she said. Grace eventually told Ansari she wanted to leave, and he got her an Uber that she took back to her Brooklyn apartment. She said she cried all the way home. Grace told Babe that Ansari texted her the next day, letting her know he had fun on the date. Grace replied that he'd upset her with his advances, in a text message exchange she showed to the publication. Ansari allegedly replied that he was "sad to hear this" and that "it would never be my intention to make you or anyone feel the way you described. Clearly I misread things in the moment and I'm truly sorry."
In a statement, Ansari addressed the accusation, saying that he thought it was consensual.  "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," Aziz wrote in a statement on Sunday. "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," Ansari's statement continued. "I took her words to heart and responded privately after taking the time to process what she had said."
The New York Times published an op-ed titled "Aziz Ansari Is Guilty. Of Not Being a Mind Reader," calling the accusation "the worst thing that has happened to the #MeToo movement." In a Monday op-ed, The New York Times' Bari Weiss wrote that the report in Babe was "arguably the worst thing that has happened to the #MeToo movement." Weiss, who is known for right-wing views, also wrote, "There is a useful term for what Grace experienced on her night with Mr. Ansari. It’s called 'bad sex.' It sucks." The op-ed received a lot of backlash on Twitter, and was the top post on the front page of Reddit on Monday night: But some agreed with the take:
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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