Despite being nominated for Master of None, Aziz Ansari skipped the 2018 SAG Awards on Sunday, January 21, one week after an anonymous woman accused him of sexual misconduct.
The star-studded audience did not applaud for the 34-year-old when his name was announced during the Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series nominations. Shameless star William H. Macy took home the trophy and gave a shoutout to the category’s nominees, including Ansari, during his acceptance speech.
Using the pseudonym Grace, a 23-year-old photographer from Brooklyn, New York, told the website Babe.net in a story published January 13 that she met the Parks and Recreation alum at an Emmys afterparty the previous September. They later went on a date, which Grace described as “the worst night of my life,” alleging that he was sexually coercive when they returned to his apartment.
Ansari responded in a statement to Us Weekly on January 14, confirming that he had met Grace but he believed their encounter was consensual. “The next day, I got a text from her saying that although ‘it may have seemed OK,’ upon further reflection, she felt uncomfortable,” he said. “It was true that everything did seem OK 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. I continue to support the movement that is happening in our culture. It is necessary and long overdue.”
Grace’s account faced some backlash, with some critics calling the allegations “reckless” and others dismissing the incident as a bad date.
