The Indian American comedian had a nomination.
Indian American actor Aziz Ansari, who recently got embroiled in a sexual harassment allegation, missed Sunday’s Screen Actor Guild Awards (SAG), which had him nominated for an award in the category of outstanding performance by a male actor in a comedy
Ansari, that star of “Master of None”, was accused by a 23-year old female photographer of sexually harassing her during a date last September.
She levelled the allegation in an interview with the website Babe. The site identified her by the pseudonym “Grace.”
Ansari released a statement saying that the encounter was “consensual.”
“We went out to dinner, and afterwards we ended up engaging in sexual activity, which by all indications was completely consensual,” he said, adding that he was “surprised and concerned” hearing that Grace did not deem it consensual.
The actor did not show up for SAG despite being informed about his nomination. The outstanding performance by a male actor award went to William H. Macy for his performance in “Shameless”.
Ansari has not made any public appearances since the Babe article was published, and there are reasons to believe that he may have chosen to stay home.
Interestingly, James Franco who was accused of sexual harassment by five women did attend the Actors Guild Award ceremony.
Franco had a nomination in the category of outstanding performance by a male actor in a leading role for his performance in “The Disaster Artist,” but the award went to Gary Oldman for “Darkest Hour.” Franco did not respond to the allegation but he had earlier denied any wrongdoing.
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