Amy Schumer doesn’t want to see Aziz Ansari’s life ruined over alleged sexual misconduct, but acknowledged that his behavior was “unacceptable.”
“I don’t think anyone wants to see Aziz’s career ruined or his life ruined or anything like that, but that’s where people’s minds go,” the comedian said on “The Katie Couric Podcast” Thursday.
“They go ‘Does he deserve this?’ And it’s really not about that. I think it’s about expressing and showing women that that behavior is not okay and not only can you leave, but you need to leave. Because then the women who come after you, you’re leaving a mark for them too.”
Last month, a 23-year-old Brooklyn photographer, identified only as Grace, told Babe.net that she met Ansari, 34, at a party after the Emmy Awards in September 2017, then went on a date with him when they were both home in New York.
Back in his Tribeca apartment, Grace claims that Ansari pressured her into giving him oral sex and penetrated her digitally without her consent.
“He probably moved my hand to his d–k five to seven times,” she said. “He really kept doing it after I moved it away.”
She claims to have left his apartment after more “gross, forceful kisses.”
In a statement after the allegations, Ansari said the encounter was 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,” he said.
“I continue to support the movement that is happening in our culture. It is necessary and long overdue.”
The photographer’s accusations spurred a conversation about consent and the difference between sexual assault and a bad date.
“If you don’t really lay your boundaries out, then you’re leaving it open for the women who come after you. So I think a lot of women feel really bad that they’ve been complicit with things, but we didn’t know not to be. And I think now there’s kind of no excuse,” Schumer said on the podcast.
“And if you have a doctor that makes you uncomfortable or you get a massage or you have a date with someone and they coerce you in a situation like the Aziz one, I don’t think there’s any sort of criminal charge, but I think that it’s good for everybody to learn that that behavior’s not acceptable. It’s not a crime, but it’s not cool. It can still really mess with a woman.”
(Excerpt) Read More in: NY Daily News