Aziz Ansari issues statement denying sexual misconduct

Aziz Ansari issued a statement Sunday night to address accusations of sexual misconduct with a woman known as Grace.

"I was surprised and concerned," Ansari said when he learned how Grace felt about their encounter on September 25, 2017.

Grace said that after a dinner date, she and Ansari went back to the comedian's Manhattan apartment where he digitally penetrated her and repeatedly asked her for sexual intercourse after she had already declined.

She says she viewed the sexual encounter as "violating," "uncomfortable" and "painful," and told babe that she believes her verbal and non-verbal cues should have alerted Ansari. According to his statement, however, he says he viewed the night as "by all indications, completely consensual."

Read Ansari's full statement below, issued a full 31 hours after our original report:

“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. We went out to dinner, and afterwards we ended up engaging in sexual activity, which 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. 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.

"I continue to support the movement that is happening in our culture. It is necessary and long overdue.” – Aziz Ansari

And read our exclusive account of Grace's encounter with Ansari here.

@k80way