A HLN host has attacked Aziz Ansari's anonymous accuser for making "career-ending" claims about nothing more than a "bad date", while warning that such "reckless and hollow" allegations threaten to undermine the entire #MeToo movement.
A 23-year-old Brooklyn photographer, using the pseudonym "Grace", claimed over the weekend that she'd gone on a date with the Master of None star which turned out to be "the worst night of my life".
She told Babe.net that the comedian, 34, had ignored a number of verbal and non-verbal "cues" that she wasn't interested in having sex, such as "pulling away and mumbling." Grace engaged in oral sex with Ansari but texted him the next day to tell him he'd made her feel "uncomfortable."
Ansari responded to allegations saying he was "surprised and concerned" but that "by all indications was completely consensual."
Now HLN host Ashleigh Banfield has hit out at "Grace" for her "appalling" decision to go to the press about a bad date, which she said could have career-ending consequences for Ansari, according to the Daily Mail.
She also warned that claims like Grace's undermined the work of the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements to tackle actual sexual assault and sexual harassment in the workplace.
"You had a bad date. I've had a few myself. They stink," Banfield, 50, said in her Monday segment.
"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. It did not send you 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?"
"What you have done in my opinion is appalling. 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."
Banfield, who has worked in the media for three decades, said that there was a good chance the 23-year-old anonymous accuser would never have to face the sort of "toxic work environment that the rest of us have endured' because of the work of brave women and the #MeToo campaign is getting rid of 'the Harvey Weinsteins and the Kevin Spaceys of the world."
But the HLN host warned that frivolous accusations undermined that important work.
"You looked at that gift horse in the mouth and chiselled away at that powerful movement with your public accusation," Banfield told Grace in the letter.
"You have chiselled away at a movement that I, along with all my sisters in the workplace, have been dreaming of for decades, a movement that has finally changed an oversexed professional environment that I, too, have struggled through at times over the last 30 years.
"All of the gains that have been achieved on your behalf and mine are now being compromised with the allegations you threw out there, and I'm going to call them 'reckless and hollow'."
She ended her furious segment saying that she hopes Grace has learned from her experience, and that next time she goes on a bad date she will "stand up sooner, you smooth out your dress, and you bloody well leave, because the only sentence a guy like that deserves is a case of blue balls, not a Hollywood blackball."
I have truly admired Ashleigh Banfield for giving a platform to survivors of sexual assault (like the Stanford survivor), but today she engaged with an antiquated idea of consent that does not acknowledge coercion or the varied reactions humans have to a traumatic event. [Thread]
— 𝒦𝒶𝓉 𝓜. 𝒥. (@MsKatherineMJ) January 16, 2018
really upsetting to see a self-proclaimed 'feminist' going after @TVAshleigh for her age and appearance. women in the media get so much hateful shit from strangers on the internet as it is
— eve peyser (@evepeyser) January 17, 2018
Ashleigh Banfield's reply/personal opinion to Aziz Ansari's alleged accuser was so on point I couldn't have said it any better myself. didn't sugar coat shit she said it exactly how it is and that's what we need more of these days.
— kiara (@kiaraDoxtator) January 15, 2018
Banfield's take has received a mixed response online, with some praising her for her no-nonsense approach, and others saying she missed the point.
Her rant came days after Ansari spoke out with his side of the story on Sunday.
"In September of last year, I met a woman at a party. We exchanged numbers. We texted back and forth and eventually went on a date," Ansari acknowledged in a statement to Variety.
"We went out to dinner, and afterwards we ended up engaging in sexual activity, which by all indications was completely consensual," Ansari said.
"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," he said.
"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," he said. "It is necessary and long overdue."
The anonymous woman had described their date in detail in the Babe.net story on Saturday, claiming the actor had pressured her for sex at his apartment over the course of the night while they were on a date.
The woman's claims did not involve force or violence.
The woman said she met Ansari at an after-party for the Emmys in Los Angeles on September 17 when she noticed they had both brought the same kind of film cameras.
She said she exchanged phone numbers with Ansari at the party and later made plans for a date when they had both returned to New York.
On Monday, September 25, she said she went to Ansari's swanky TriBeCa apartment, where they drank white wine and talked.
After dinner at an oyster bar a few blocks away, she said they returned to his apartment.
She claims he performed oral sex on her and then asked her to reciprocate, which she did.
The woman claims he stuck his fingers down her throat and allegedly kept moving her hand towards his penis.
She said she couldn't say whether Ansari was just clueless or actively ignoring her signals.
"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.
She alleges that Ansari repeatedly asked her "Where do you want me to f**k you?"
When the woman stood up to leave, Ansari insisted on calling a car for her, she claims.
"I cried the whole ride home. At that point I felt violated. That last hour was so out of my hand," she said
"This was not what I expected. I'd seen some of his shows and read excerpts from his book and I was not expecting a bad night at all, much less a violating night and a painful one," she said.
The next day, before the woman could figure out what to say to Ansari about the date, he allegedly sent her a text message.
"It was fun meeting you last night," the message read.
The woman responded: "Last night might've been fun for you, but it wasn't for me. You ignored clear non-verbal clues; you kept going with advances.
"I want to make sure you're aware so maybe the next girl doesn't have to cry on the ride home."
Ansari allegedly replied: "I'm so sad to hear this. Clearly, I misread things in the moment and I'm truly sorry."
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