Ashleigh Banfield is the host of the HLN show ‘Crime & Justice’, and did an “open letter” in an attempt to make the anonymous 23-year-old who accused Aziz Ansari of sexual misconduct grasp what she is doing.
Banfield begins by apologizing to and sympathizing with the girl, who remains anonymous as “Grace,” for the fact she had a bad date who got too handsy. However, Banfield tells Grace that by her own description of what happened does not constitute as does not constitute as sexual assault.
Banfield repeatedly cites Grace’s description, the fact she did not attempt to get up and leave Ansari and continued engaging in his sexual advances, as evidence against her claim.
If Grace was assaulted, Banfield says she should have gone to the police. If she was harassed to the point where it affected her ability to progress in her career, she should speak out and speak loudly. But according to Banfield, based on Grace’s accusation, it was a bad sexual encounter and she should have gone home and told her friends that her date was gross and avoid men like that.
Banfield, a champion of the “Me Too” movement says accusations such as this that seem to just be out to damage someone’s career chisels away at the progress she and countless other women have worked years for.
All in all, Banfield feels Grace’s accusation and now possible death sentence for Ansari’s career is “appauling” and said, “the only sentence a guy like that deserves is a bad case of blue balls, not a Hollywood blackball.”
Banfield is in no way victim blaming but reminds Grace and other women to think about what their accusations truly are doing and take the movement more seriously because too many women worked far too hard for it.
