Thankfully it wasn’t like how Louis C.K chose to do it, but stand-up comedian and actor Aziz Ansari finally chose to address the sexual misconduct allegation against him in a pop-up show (the kind where a comedian ‘tries out his new material’) in New York. According to this Vulture piece, Ansari’s set had his signature goofiness written all over it, till he chose to address something most members of the audience weren’t sure he would talk about.
But in his typical breezy fashion, the comedian broached the topic. He spoke about a guy who recognised him on the street by saying he loved his Netflix show, only to find out he was talking about Hasan Minhaj’s Patriot Act. Immediately correcting himself the man says, “Oh Master of None, right? Oh yea Parks & Rec! And you had the whole sexual miscoduct thing last year right?” To which Ansari responds by saying, “no no no no, that’s Hasan” and the audience erupted into laughter. At this exact point, the Vulture piece notes how Ansari’s voice becomes sombre as he goes into an introspective monologue.
“There were times I felt really upset and humiliated and embarrassed, and ultimately I just felt terrible this person felt this way. But you know, after a year, how I feel about it is, I hope it was a step forward. It made me think about a lot. If this has made not just me but other guys think about this, and just be more thoughtful and aware and willing to go that extra mile, and make sure someone else is comfortable in that moment, that’s a good thing.” Ansari was quoted as saying, also going on to add how a friend told him about how these allegations had made him rethink every date in his life.
It’s been more than a whole year since the allegations against Aziz Ansari made their way on to a publication called Babe.net, where the comedian’s date accused him of failing to read her non-verbal cues of discomfort while getting physical. Which led to what was probably the most polarising case of the #MeToo era.
This is most likely Ansari’s first attempt to address the issue, after the initial statement put out by him in the wake of the allegations. And this comes only a few months after how Louis C.K chose to address his misconduct, at the expense of victims in the Parkland shooting. This was definitely a cleaner way to go about it.
