Aziz Ansari accused of sexual misconduct

Photographer says she felt "violated" during a date with the comedian.



From Vulture: Comedian and actor Aziz Ansari has been accused by a New York–based photographer of sexual misconduct during a date. Speaking anonymously with Babe, the 23-year-old woman claims she met Ansari at an Emmys after-party in L.A. last fall. They exchanged numbers, which led to a date in Manhattan about a week later. The woman said the date began normally, with dinner at an outdoor oyster bar, but when they went to Ansari's apartment afterward, things quickly escalated to a point of discomfort.

"In a second, his hand was on my breast," the woman recounted. "It was 30 minutes of me getting up and moving and him following and sticking his fingers down my throat again. It was really repetitive. It felt like a fucking game... most of my discomfort was expressed in me pulling away and mumbling. I know that my hand stopped moving at some points, I stopped moving my lips and turned cold." When the woman reiterated her reluctance to do anything sexual that evening, Ansari reportedly listened at first, but soon chose to persist anyway...

More here: Aziz Ansari Accused of Sexual Misconduct by Photographer

Aziz Ansari makes history with Golden Globe win

Master of None star is the first Asian American lead actor to win a Golden Globe for television.



In case you missed it, Aziz Ansari made a little history on Sunday night at the 75th Golden Globe Awards. The comedian and star of Netflix's Master of None took home the the trophy for Best Actor In A Television Series Musical or Comedy, making him the first Asian American lead actor to win a Golden Globe for television.

"I genuinely didn't think I would win because all the websites said I was going to lose," Ansari joked during his acceptance speech. He was up against some pretty heavy hitters in category, including Anthony Anderson for Black-ish, Kevin Bacon for I Love Dick, William H. Macy for Shameless and Eric McCormack for Will & Grace.

In addition to thanking his cast and crew, Ansari thanked the entire country of Italy "for all the amazing food we ate in season two," and, of course, his parents, for giving him "so much love."

Riz Ahmed is the first Asian actor to win an Emmy

Other notable winners include Lena Waithe and Aziz Ansari for 'Master of None.'



On Sunday at the 69th annual Emmy Awards, Riz Ahmed won Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for his starring role as an accused murderer in HBO's limited series crime drama The Night Of.

That makes Ahmed the first man of Asian descent to take home a trophy at the Emmys, and only the second Asian performer ever to win, following Archie Panjabi's win for The Good Wife in 2010.

The Night Of is an eight-part miniseries that follows the intricate story of a murder case in New York City. Ahmed received critical praise for his star-making turn as Nasir "Naz" Khan, a Pakistani American college student accused in the grisly murder of a mysterious young woman after a night gone wrong.

"Wow. This is a tremendous honor to be recognized along so many actors who I've watched for so long." Ahmed said in his acceptance speech. "If this show has shone a light on some of the prejudice in our society, Islamophobia, some of the injustice in our justice system, then maybe that's something."

The Pakistani British actor and emcee also specifically credited the organizations South Asian Youth Action and The Innocence Project for helping him prepare for the role.

Aziz Ansari is the SNL host we really needed this week

Comedian's razor-sharp opening monologue throws down a challenge to Donald Trump.



Over the weekend, comedian Aziz Ansari made his hosting debut on Saturday Night Live, becoming the show's first South Asian American host and only the fourth host of Asian descent in the sketch comedy institution's 42-year seasons. A historic moment of television, for sure, but also a moment perhaps made even more significant with Ansari serving as the first host following the inauguration of Donald Trump.

Because, as he has made quite apparent, Trump has an unreasonably obsessive, contentious relationship with Saturday Night Live. Because you could be absolutely certain that Trump, despite claiming to hate the show, was probably tuning in. And because you know Aziz was gonna bring it. And hell yeah, he did.

While most of the show was fairly standard fare, Ansari devoted his opening monologue to some razor-sharp standup directed at the new president -- "Pretty cool to know he's probably at home right now watching a brown guy make fun of him" -- and his supporters who have become "way too fired up about the Trump thing for the wrong reasons." You know, the racists who aren't pretending anymore and the "lower case kkk."

Best of all, Aziz throws down an important challenge at Trump, and offers a word of encouragement to those of us who are worried about this new regime: "If you look at our country's history, change doesn't come from presidents. Change comes from large groups of angry people. And if day one is any indication, you are part of the largest group of angry people I have ever seen." Amen, Aziz.

Watch:

Aziz Ansari to host Saturday Night Live

'Master of None' star will make his SNL hosting debut on January 21.



Comedian Aziz Ansari is set to make his hosting debut on Saturday Night Live later this month.

It was announced Tuesday that the creator and star of Master of None will take up hosting duties on the January 21 episode of NBC's hallowed sketch comedy institution, joined by musical guest Big Sean.

Well, it's about time.

There have been only three hosts of Asian descent -- Jackie Chan and Lucy Liu, both back in 2000, and Bruno Mars in 2012 -- in Saturday Night Live's 42-year history. Ansari will be the fourth, and the first ever host of South Asian descent.

Aziz Ansari nabs Emmy nominations for 'Master of None'

Also: Michelle Ang nominated for 'Fear the Walking Dead: Flight 462' miniseries.



Nominations for 2016 Primetime Emmy Awards, recognizing excellence in the television industry, were announced on Thursday morning. In a banner year for diversity on television, Aziz Ansari receive a nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for Master of None.

Emmy Awards 2016: The Nominees

Ansari's nomination makes him the first Asian American lead series actor to be nominated for an Emmy. He joins a competitive field that includes previous nominees Jeffrey Tambor (Transparent), Anthony Anderson (black-ish), Will Forte (The Last Man on Earth) and William H. Macy (Shameless).

Thank you, straight white guys. You had a good run.

Aziz Ansari and Alan Yang's 'Master of None' wins Critics' Choice Award for Best Comedy Series.



On Sunday night at the 2016 Critics' Choice Awards, the acclaimed Netflix series Master of None took home the trophy for Best Comedy Series. Series star/director/co-creator Ansari, co-creator/executive producer Alan Yang and the rest of the cast were on hand to take the stage and accept the well-deserved award.

In addition to the usual thanks friends, family and industry folks, Yang specifically thanked "all of the straight white guys who dominated movies and TV so hard, for so long, that stories about anyone else seem kind of fresh and original. Because you guys crushed it for so long, anything else seems kind of different."

Best speech of the night. Take a look:

Randall Park and Constance Wu nominated for Critics' Choice Awards

Other noteworthy nominees include Aziz Ansari and BD Wong.



Congratulations to Randall Park and Constance Wu! The Fresh Off The Boat stars have both picked up well-deserved nominations in television comedy categories for the 21st Annual Critics' Choice Awards.

Critics' Choice Award Nominations Led by 'Mad Max,' 'Fargo'

Park and Wu, who have been kicking ass as Louis and Jessica Huang on the hit ABC comedy, are nominated for Best Actor and Best Actress, respectively, in a Comedy Series. Because the critics know what's up!

Hudson Yang nominated for NAACP Image Award

'Fresh Off The Boat' star receives nod for Outstanding Performance by a Youth



Whoa! Congratulations to Fresh Off The Boat's Hudson Yang, who is a nominee for the 47th annual NAACP Image Awards, which celebrate the accomplishments of people of color in TV, music, literature and film and honors individuals or groups who promote social justice through creative endeavors.

The 12-year-old actor, who stars as Eddie Huang on the hit ABC comedy, is nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Youth (Series, Special, Television Movies or Mini-series).

Hudson's competition in the youth category includes Marcus Scribner, Marsai Martin and Miles Brown, who are all nominated for ABC's black-ish, and Skai Jackson for Disney Channel's Jessie.

Overall, ABC led all TV networks with 23 nominations.

Watch the new trailer for Aziz Ansari's 'Master of None'

10-episode original Netflix series is inspired by Ansari's own life.



Netflix just dropped the first trailer for comedian Aziz Ansari's new original scripted series Master of None, and it looks pretty darn great. The 10-episode series, starring, written and directed by Ansari, is loosely based on his own life, following the personal and professional life of Dev, "a 30-year-old actor in New York who has trouble deciding what he wants to eat, much less the pathway for the rest of his life."

How Aziz Ansari would replace the Confederate flag

Comedian offers a unique idea for a new flag design to represent his home state.



This morning, after decades of intense debate and deep-rooted controversy, South Carolina officially lowered and removed the Confederate flag from the state capitol grounds, closing a chapter on one of the most fraught symbols of racism and white supremacy in the American South.

Comedian Aziz Ansari, who is currently promoting his new book Modern Romance, is a native of Columbia, South Carolina. Now that the Confederate flag has been lowered for good, supposedly ushering in a new era of racial progress and understanding, he offers a unique idea for a new flag design to represent his home state.

This is like a hundred times more funny because it was posted by PBS NewsHour:

Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari

Comedian's new book explores the pleasures and perils of our new romantic world.



Let's face it: courting, communicating and finding love seems a lot more complicated than it used to be. Technology was supposed to make everything a little easier on all of us, but why does it seem like everybody is just more frustrated? We get some answers from an unlikely modern thinker: Aziz Ansari.

Ansari, standup comedian and star of Parks and Recreation, is your guide to love in the digital age in his new book Modern Romance, on shelves this week. For years, Ansari has been aiming his comic insight at modern romance, but for this book he takes things to another level, teaming up with NYU sociologist Eric Klinenberg to combine his irreverent humor with cutting-edge social science to give us a tour of our new romantic world.

First, here's a clip of Aziz on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, reading some embarrassing first text exchanges between guys and girls. These are actual first attempts at romantic overtures:

Aziz Ansari gives props to his badass immigrant parents

New standup special 'Live at Madison Square Garden' premieres March 6 on Netflix.



Comedian Aziz Ansari's latest standup special premieres Friday, March 6 exclusively on Netflix. Filmed in front of a sold-out crowd at Madison Square Garden, Aziz gets a little vulnerable and delivers his unique, sharp-witted take on a wide range of topics, including relationships, dating, technology and his immigrant parents.

Here's a preview. In this hilarious bit, Aziz admits his privileged upbringing was a cakewalk compared to the incredible sacrifices and struggles endured by his amazing immigrant Indian parents.

Aziz Ansari unleashes Twitter fury on Rupert Murdoch

It's all #RupertsFault.



You may have seen News Corp CEO Rupert Murdoch's ridiculous, now-infamous tweet about holding all Muslim people responsible for a "growing jihadist cancer." Aziz Ansari sure saw it.

On Sunday night, the popular Indian American comedian -- who comes from a Muslim family -- took a moment to take Murdoch to task with a tirade of tweets of his own. It was gleefully vicious, in turn mockingly holding Murdoch responsible for egregious crimes committed in the name of Christianity.

With 4.93 million Twitter followers, Ansari set off a wave of tweets from scores of other users who got in on mocking Murdoch, and got the hashtag #RupertsFault trending in the United States.

Sari Time! Aziz Ansari's Saris make the perfect holiday gift

Aziz endorses his new stylish new product



Comedian/Emmy-eligible actor Aziz Ansari recently appeared on Conan to endorse an exciting new clothing line: Aziz Ansari's Saris. Give your traditional Indian wear that extra flair -- Aziz's face! Sure, there are plenty of other celebrity-endorsed saris on the market, but not one of those celebrities have the word "sari" in their name. Don't mess with the fake stuff. This is the real deal:

Aziz Ansari goes to Hong Kong, gets schooled on the proper way to eat a pineapple bun

"Now I'm that brown guy who ripped the buns apart."



I'm enjoying the recently launched Esquire Network's new travelogue show The Getaway, in which interesting personalities are dropped into world cities and tear it up. Basically, it's a really nice excuse for celebrity folk to eat and drink and eat some more. Last week's episode featured comedian Aziz Ansari exploring the sights and tastes of Hong Kong. And damns, it made me hungry.

Here's a clip of Aziz hanging out with food blogger Nicole Fung at the Kam Wah Cafe, one of Hong Kong's most famous teahouse. He gets schooled in the proper way to eat a pineapple bun -- don't rip it apart, dude -- from the restaurant's watchful host, Mrs. Chan. And people, you do not want to cross Mrs. Chan:

Watch the trailer for Aziz Ansari's Buried Alive

New standup special premieres November 1 exclusively on Netflix



Check it out. Here's comedian Aziz Ansari (with an assist from Seth Rogen) in the official trailer for his third standup comedy special Buried Alive, which premieres exclusively on Netflix on November 1. Filmed live at the Merriam Theater in Philadelphia, special promises lots of laughs as Aziz offers his unique viewpoint on pending adulthood, babies, marriage and love in the modern era:

Aziz Ansari takes down racist, homophobic jokes at Comedy Central's Roast of James Franco

"I think it's so cool that some of you guys were able to travel back in time to 1995 for those Indian jokes..."



So last night, Comedy Central aired its Roast of James Franco, during which comedians stepped up to a microphone to make fun of the multi-hyphenate actor with every tasteless joke possible. This included all kinds of gay jokes and racist humor, because why not, that's always funny to somebody.

Then it was comedian Aziz Ansari's turn. He used his moment at the dais to call out the evening's lazy-ass racism and homophobia, including the barrage of outdated Indian jokes that were flung his way.

"Those stereotypes are so outdated. My God. There's more Indian dudes doing sitcoms than there are running 7-11s. We are straight up snatching roles from white actors. My last three roles were Randy, Chet and Tom."

Check it out: