Amid the lengthy list of TV and movie titles leaving Netflix in February is Aziz Ansari: Dangerously Delicious, the actor’s 2012 standup routine. The show’s departure from the streaming giant comes shortly after the comic was accused of sexual misconduct in a controversial article from Babe.net.
It’s important to mention that Netflix has made no statement about the allegation against Ansari and that his critically-acclaimed show Master of None is an original Netflix series.
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Ansari’s other standup routines, Aziz Ansari: Buried Alive (2013) and Aziz Ansari Live at the Madison Square Garden (2015) will remain on Netflix, as will Parks and Recreation, in which he plays series regular Tom Haverford.
The misconduct allegation against Ansari has not been met with the same swift repercussions like those against other Netflix-associated A-listers — like House of Cards star Kevin Spacey, comedian Louis C.K. and The Ranch actor Danny Masterson. Spacey and Masterson were cut from their shows, and C.K.’s second comedy special for the service was scrapped.
While users were fairly adamant Spacey, C.K. and Masterson be fired, a swell of support for Ansari and Master of None is growing on Twitter.
Many public figures, like HLN anchor Ashleigh Banfield and actor Joel McHale, have spoken against the article and accusation.
Earlier this month, Babe.net published an account from a 23-year-old woman identified as Grace, who said she met Ansari at an Emmys after-party. They exchanged numbers at the party and went on a date in Manhattan.
The date ended with Grace leaving Ansari’s apartment in an Uber. After the date, Grace wrote a text message to Ansari, which read, “I just want to take this moment to make you aware of [your] behavior and how uneasy it made me.”
Ansari replied, “Clearly, I misread things in the moment and I’m truly sorry.” Babe.net reported that its reporter reviewed the text messages.
The woman claimed Ansari grabbed a condom “within minutes” of their first kiss. At that point, Grace says she told him to slow down.
“I said something like, ‘Whoa, let’s relax for a sec, let’s chill,’ ” she said.
Grace claimed that Ansari performed oral sex on her, and she briefly did the same for him. “It was really quick. Everything was pretty much touched and done within ten minutes of hooking up, except for actual sex,” she said.
Ansari continued making sexual advances towards her, even after she thought he was done.
“He sat back and pointed to his penis and motioned for me to go down on him,” the woman told Babe. “And I did. I think I just felt really pressured. It was literally the most unexpected thing I thought would happen at that moment because I told him I was uncomfortable.”
After the article was published, Ansari confirmed that he had gone on a date with the woman and said that the sexual activity described “was completely consensual.”
“The next day, I got a text from her saying that although ‘it may have seemed okay,’ upon further reflection, she felt uncomfortable,” Ansari wrote. “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.”
“I continue to support the movement that is happening in our culture. It is necessary and long overdue,” he continued.
