HLN’s Ashleigh Banfield Says Aziz Ansari’s Sexual Misconduct Accuser Is Damaging The #MeToo Movement

As we previously reported, Aziz Ansari was accused of sexual misconduct by a woman who went on a date with him in September of last year. She said that she felt pressured to give him oral sex and he was persistent even after she gave him “multiple non-verbal cues.” Entertainment Weekly reports that HLN’s Ashleigh Banfield criticized the accuser of Ansari, claiming that what “Grace” had was a bad date and she was damaging the #MeToo movement. Here are highlights:

On Grace’s bad date: “Dear Grace (not your real name). I’m sorry that you had a bad date. I have had a few myself. They stink. But let’s take a moment to reflect on what you claim was the ‘worst night of your life.’”

On her accusations: “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, your sexual encounter was unpleasant. 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? Is that truly what you thought he deserved for your night out?”

On why she’s in the wrong: “But what you have done, in my opinion, is appalling. You went to the press with a 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 privy. And here is where I am going to claim victim. You have chiseled away at a movement that I, along with all of 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 in broadcasting. You’re 23. What a gift. Yet you look that gift horse in the mouth and chiseled away at that powerful movement with your public accusation. You had an unpleasant date. And you did not leave. That is on you. And all the gains that have been achieved on your behalf and mine are now being compromised by the allegations that you threw out there, and I’m gonna call them reckless and hollow.”