Aziz Ansari responds to allegations of sexual misconduct

Actor Aziz Ansari has responded to allegations of sexual misconduct published this weekend on the website Babe.

In the report, a 23-year-old woman recounts a 2017 date with Ansari that she says turned sour when they went back to his apartment after dinner. She says Ansari was persistent in trying to undress her and initiate sex, even after she told him she was uncomfortable. The Babe report includes a text screenshot from the following day in which the woman tells Ansari, “It’s like nothing changed even after I expressed that I’d like to slow it down.”

In a statement released by his rep last night, Ansari says he was “surprised and concerned” to find out their evening wasn’t consensual, The Hollywood Reporter reports. “I took her words to heart and responded privately after taking the time to process what she had said,” he writes.

Ansari, the creator of Netflix’s Master of None, has recently seen a decent amount of success from his work on the series. Last week, he won a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a TV Comedy, and he won a writing Emmy back in September.

By extension, Master of None is a pretty successful show for Netflix, which has not yet responded to the allegations against Ansari. Back in November, Netflix cut ties with Louis CK after he admitted to allegations of sexual harassment. In December, Netflix wrote the actor Danny Masterson out of his comedy series The Ranch, after multiple women accused him of rape.

Ansari is just the latest of a number of men in Hollywood to have been accused of sexual misconduct. At the Golden Globes, several actors, including Ansari, wore “Time’s Up” pins against harassment and in solidarity with women in film, television, and theater. In his statement, Ansari says he still supports “the movement that is happening in our culture.”

Read the full statement from Ansari below.

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.

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.

The Verge has reached out to Netflix and will update with any new information.