There may have been laughs in Aziz Ansari’s new Netflix Special Right Now , but things also got serious, real quick.
By doing so, the actor/comedian officially addressed the elephant in the room: the sexual misconduct allegations he faced in 2018.
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It’s safe to say that 2018 was not Aziz Ansari’s year.
The actor and comedian was hit with some pretty serious sexual misconduct allegations.
This was right around the time of the #MeToo movement.
It began a worldwide conversation about sexual assault, supporting survivors, and what constitutes consent.
It also shed a very dark light on the not-so-glamorous sides to Hollywood.
This meant that men like Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, and Matt Lauer were in hot water for their alleged sexual assaults.
Aziz Ansari was another celebrity hit with sexual misconduct allegations.
The incident involving Aziz and a woman named Grace (not her real name) was released.
It was published in an article on the now-defunct site, Babe.net.
Grace referred to her first date with Aziz as the “worst night” of her life.
In the article, she expressed that she felt “uncomfortable and distressed” by the things Ansari was doing.
“I know I was physically giving off cues that I wasn’t interested,” she said.
“I don’t think that was noticed at all, or if it was, it was ignored.”
After the ordeal, Ansari arranged for an Uber to pick her up.
“I cried the whole ride home. At that point I felt violated.”
Her story ended up sparking the conversation on whether what happened was “just a bad date” or actually assault.
This led to even more much-needed conversations surrounding consent when it comes to modern dating.
Soon after, Ansari, who was never criminally charged, released a statement to Babe.net.
He apologized to the woman involved, while also making it clear that what happened “by all indications was completely consensual.”
Now, in his new Netflix comedy special, “Right Now”, Ansari has officially addressed the incident.
His tone changed to subdued as he told the crowd that he was “grateful” but “never “grateful enough” to his fans before.
“Now, when I see you guys here, it hits me in a different way,” he said.
“I think about what it means that all you guys, you drove down here, you waited in line, and you did all of this stuff just to hear me talk into a microphone for an hour or so.”
He said he felt like he almost died from the scandal.
“That old Aziz who said, ‘Oh, treat yo’self,’ whatever, he’s dead.”
“But I’m glad, ’cause that guy was always looking forward to whatever was next: ‘Oh, am I gonna do another tour?”
“You know, I haven’t said much about that whole thing, but I’ve talked about it on this tour, ’cause you’re here and it means a lot to me. And I’m sure a lot of you are curious how I feel about that whole situation. And, uh, it’s a tricky thing for me to answer, ’cause I’ve felt so many things in the last year, so,” he said.
“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,” he went on.
“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.’ And that’s how I feel about it. And I know this isn’t the most hilarious way to begin a comedy show. But it’s important to me that you know how I feel about that whole thing before we share this night together.”
“Well, that was pretty intense. What else shall we talk about?” he finished.
Aziz Ansari: Right Now is airing now on Netflix. Will you be watching?
