‘Saturday Night Live’ tackled the awkwardness surrounding the conversation about the sexual harassment allegations brought against comedian Aziz Ansari in the show’s latest episode.
In article posted on Babe.net earlier this month, a woman identified by the moniker ‘Grace’, a 23-year-old photographer, described a date she went on with Ansari.
During the date, she said was repeatedly allegedly ‘pressured’ by Ansari to have sexual intercourse, which they didn’t, and to perform oral sex, which she did.
The account, and Ansari’s denial of anything but consensual acts occurring, tested the modern definition of sexual assault and how comfortable we are discussing it.
In the sketch, a group of friends – played by Heidi Gardner, Beck Bennett, Kate McKinnon, host Will Ferrell, Aidy Bryant and Keenan Thompson – are sitting around a table and talking at dinner.
Gardner’s character asks: ‘Did you guys read that op ed piece about —’ but she’s cut off by her partner, played by Bennett, saying, ‘Honey, no.’
When she does finish and say, ‘Aziz Ansari,’ the camera pans to the whole table’s stunned and terrified faces as they awkwardly stare up and around, not knowing how to discuss the situation.
‘Saturday Night Live’ went after the awkwardness surrounding the conversation about the sexual harassment allegations brought against comedian Aziz Ansari
In the sketch, a group of friends – played by (left to right) Heidi Gardner, Beck Bennett, Kate McKinnon, host Will Ferrell, Aidy Bryant and Keenan Thompson – are sitting around a table and talking at dinner
The group reacts in series of hilarious way after Gardner’s character asks: ‘Did you guys read that op ed piece about Aziz Ansari (Pictured, Beck Bennett)
SNL also took a swipe at the website that published the account with Kate McKinnon stating: ‘We are in a post-Babe.net universe and we have to finish what we started’ (Pictured, McKinnon and Will Ferrell)
Utter chaos ensues, including Ferrell slamming his face into his plate of food, Bryant (left) cutting her hair, and Thompson (right( stabbing his own hand with a steak knife
The whole joke of the skit is that it’s almost impossible to talk about the incident and subsequent reaction without making it awkward or saying the wrong thing (Pictured, Gardner)
The sketch included a list of trope characters: a black man, a lesbian woman, and a typical white man who doesn’t know how to broach the topic.
Each character successively attempts extremely slowly and awkwardly to open the conversation, but with no success.
After a few words, other characters interrupt with, ‘careful…’ or ‘watch it…’ with the warnings getting more serious and more anxious the closer someone came to saying something controversial.
In one suggestion, Bennet’s character says: ‘The thing that I keep going back to is, it seems like, if she wanted to leave… she could have just… left?”
In another, Thompson’s character says: ‘It seems the issue is intersected with the issue of race.’
Twitters users commented on the skit in droves, reacting that it was very real to what people were experiencing on a day-to-day-basis (above)
SNL also took a swipe at the website that published the account with Kate McKinnon stating: ‘We are in a post-Babe.net universe and we have to finish what we started.’
Utter chaos ensues, including Ferrell slamming his face into his plate of food, Bryant cutting her hair, and Thompson stabbing his own hand with a steak knife.
The whole joke of the skit is that it’s almost impossible to talk about the incident and subsequent reaction without making it awkward or saying the wrong thing.
While the show did not exonerate the Master of None actor (left and right), who hosted Saturday Night Live in January 2017, it did address the issues surrounding both ‘Grace’ and Anzari’s accounts
Ansari (pictured, January 2018) later admitted that the date happened, and said he thought the sexual activity during the date was ‘completely consensual’
Twitters users commented on the skit in droves, reacting that it was very real to what people were experiencing on a day-to-day-basis.
‘That Aziz Ansari convo skit – um so is this what it looks like when people who have literally no experience discussing or studying feminism or rape culture try to talk? #snl,’ tweeted one.
‘Wow #SNL sketch tacking #Aziz is tres brilliant. They went there and they got ir right. #notyou Babe,’ wrote another.
One user commented: ‘The SNL sketch about Aziz Anzari and the #metoo movement is all of us trying to talk about Aziz Ansari and the #metoo movement.’
While the show did not exonerate the Master of None actor, who hosted Saturday Night Live in January 2017, it did address the issues surrounding both ‘Grace’ and Anzari’s accounts.
The story, published by Babe.net on January 13, sparked a debate online about consent.
Ansari later admitted that the date happened, and said he thought the sexual activity during the date 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.’