Aziz Ansari Sexual Assault: CNN Host Blasts Accuser Over ‘Reckless’ Accusations

Every time someone in Hollywood is accused of sexual assault, the normal reaction from people is to lambast the perpetrator and offer support and comfort for the victims. But in the case of “Master of None” star Aziz Ansari, the opposite happened.

Ansari was accused by a 23-year-old woman named Grace, who came forward and told Babe that her date with the actor turned out to be the worst night of her life.

Grace said that Ansari was eager for them to get back to his place after dinner. As soon as they did, he began making his sexual advances. Grace recalled that she kept moving away from him while he repeatedly went near her. “Most of my discomfort was expressed in me pulling away and mumbling. I know that my hand stopped moving at some points,” she said. “I stopped moving my lips and turned cold.”

But whether or not Ansari was oblivious to her hesitation or just ignored it is impossible for Grace to pinpoint. “I know I was physically giving off cues that I wasn’t interested. I don’t think that was noticed at all, or if it was, it was ignored,” she said.

After reading her account, CNN host Ashleigh Banfield sent a message of her own to Grace. “You had a bad date. Your date got overly amorous. After protesting his moves, you did not get up and leave right away, you continued to engage in the sexual encounter. By your own clear description, this was not a rape, nor was it a sexual assault — by your description,” Banfield said.

While it’s true their sexual encounter was unpleasant for Grace, Banfield said it still did not send the lady to the police. “It did not affect your workplace or your ability to get a job, so I have to ask you: What exactly was your beef? That you had a bad date with Aziz Ansari? Is that what victimized you to the point of seeking a public conviction and a career-ending sentence against him?” she continued.

If the sexual encounter was that bad, Banfield said Grace should have just stood up and gotten home. Instead, she did not “bloody well leave” and is now riding in the #MeToo movement and made an attempt to destroy Ansari’s career.

“But what you have done in my opinion is appalling,” Banfield said. “You went to the press with the story of a bad date, and you have potentially destroyed this man’s career over it right after he received an award for which he was worthy,” she said of Ansari’s Golden Globe win for “Master of None.”

After Grace’s story came out, Ansari said in a statement released to CNN that everything that happened during that date was “completely consensual,” and he feels “so sad” that the woman felt that way.

The next day following their date, Ansari said “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.”