Aziz Ansari is reflecting on the sexual assault allegations made against him back in 2018.
The 42-year-old comedian and actor was accused of misconduct from an anonymous woman, where she claimed he made several advances and ignored her non-verbal cues of denial.
Aziz shared a brief statement at the time, and addressed it once again a year later, noting how he felt upset, humiliated and embarrassed. “It made me think about a lot, and I hope I’ve become a better person,” he said at the time.
In a new interview, the Good Fortune star looked back on the allegations, and the criticism for not addressing the victim directly in a comedy special in 2019.
Keep reading to find out more…
“I mean, I apologized to the person personally, right? When it happened,” he tells THR.
He also denied taking a hiatus in the wake of the allegations.
“It wasn’t really a break, per se. I did that tour, and I wanted to address it in the special because people were curious about how I felt about the whole experience. So I felt like I had to talk about it in the special,” Aziz said.
Back in 2022, production was shutdown on Aziz‘s directorial debut Being Mortal after inappropriate behavior from star Bill Murray, which eventually led to Good Fortune being made. Aziz not only stars in the upcoming movie, but wrote and directed as well.
“Everybody’s texting me, ‘Oh, Aziz, I’m so sorry,’” he told THR of the time. “And I said, ‘Oh God, I can’t live in this woe-is-me moment.’”
“And so I called Seth [Rogen],” Aziz added. “I said, ‘Hey, I know you’re supposed to be filming Being Mortal, so you’re free today. This is a shitty day for me. If you want to help me, read this, tell me if you want to do it.’“
He got a call two hours later from Seth saying he was in.
Source: justjared.com