Lena Waithe has weighed in on the sexual misconduct allegation brought against her Master of None costar Aziz Ansari.
When asked about the allegation in her April 2018 cover interview with Vanity Fair, the author writes that she became “quieter, more thoughtful,” before answering.
“At the end of the day, what I would hope comes out of this is that we as a society … educate ourselves about what consent is—what it looks like, what it feels like, what it sounds like,” she said. “I think there are both men and women who are still trying to figure it out.”
“We need to be more attuned to each other, pay more attention to each other, in every scenario, and really make sure that, whatever it is we’re doing with someone else, they’re comfortable doing whatever that thing is, and that we’re doing it together,” she continued. “That’s just human kindness and decency.”
In January, an anonymous woman accused Ansari, 35, of sexual behavior that she classified as assault but he called consensual in a controversial article published on Babe.net that sparked a public conversation regarding the nuances of the #MeToo movement.
RELATED: The Aziz Ansari Story Has Left Everyone Feeling Completely Divided
The woman, a 23-year-old Brooklyn photographer, recounted her allegations under the pseudonym “Grace.” She alleged that after meeting Ansari at an Emmy Awards afterparty in September 2017, they exchanged numbers and eventually went on a date, which she called “the worst of [her] life.” After a meal, she said they returned to his apartment, where she alleged that Ansari behaved coercively and that several sexual acts occurred though she was “physically giving off cues that [she] wasn’t interested.”
In response, Ansari issued a statement acknowledging they went on a date and ended up engaging in sexual activity afterwards, which he said “by all indications 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,” he continued. “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.”
RELATED: Master of None‘s Lena Waithe Addresses the Allegations Against Aziz Ansari
“I continue to support the movement that is happening in our culture,” he added. “It is necessary and long overdue.”
Kevin Winter/Getty
Waithe, 33, previously touched on the Ansari allegation in an interview with KPCC’s The Frame.
“Here’s the truth—in every situation, it’s not always black-and-white,” she said last month. “And I know that’s simple for people, and it’s easy for people to [ask], ‘Whose side are you on?’ There are no sides, really, in some of these scenarios.”