Lena Waithe, who stars alongside Aziz Ansari on his Netflix series ‘Master of None,’ has spoken out out about the allegations of sexual assault against the comedian from a 23-year-old photographer.
via NYDN:
Waithe, 33, spoke on KPCC’s The Frame radio show where she said she wasn’t taking sides and that there needs to be better conversations about what consent means.
“Here’s the truth — in every situation, it’s not always black and white,” “The Chi” creator explained. “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. I’m not on Harvey Weinstein’s side, I’m not on Kevin Spacey’s side. But I think you have to take each situation (individually). You can’t just say, ‘Well, I’m on this person’s team, or I’m on that person’s team.’ It doesn’t work that way.”
Waithe continued by saying people need to be “re-educated” about what consent is.
“What’s appropriate behavior at the workplace. We have to create codes of conduct. Those are things that we need,” she said.
“Cause also I think there’s an element of — how do you know if you’re breaking a rule if you aren’t aware of the rules? Or how do you know what appropriate behavior is if no one’s ever communicated to you what appropriate behavior is?” Waithe posited. “Even though some people may assume, ‘Well, of course we all know what appropriate behavior is,’ but some people may not know.”
Lena did not address the specific allegations against Aziz — which you can read about here. Aziz has maintained that he believed his interaction with his accuser was completely consensual.
