'SNL' Addresses Aziz Anzari Sexual Misconduct Allegations in a Hilarious Skit

SNL tackles how uncomfortable it is to discuss Aziz Ansari.

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The #MeToo movement has inspired a much-needed conversation about sexual harassment, consent, and gender equality. Generally speaking, these topics are easier to discuss when it comes to cases like Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey, where the moral wrongdoing is cut and dry. But what about sexual misconduct stories like the one involving Aziz Anzari where lines are blurred? Well, according to a skit from last night's Saturday Night Live episode, it's enough to make you want to face plant into a bowl of pasta.

The hilarious skit begins with an innocent conversation about a dog at a dinner table featuring host Will Ferrell and cast members Kate McKinnon, Beck Bennett, Heidi Gardner, Aidy Bryant, and Kenan Thompson. Things quickly go left when Gardner awkwardly asks the table for their take on the Aziz Anzari controversy. The room falls dark and all of the dinner guests are shaking in fear. Bennett even tries to bury his face in his turtleneck. Gardner, sensing everyone's discomfort, offers to switch the topic before Farrell steps in and says they can talk about it.

For the next four minutes, we watch these friends squirm through the discussion on the Anzari topic, second guessing themselves the whole way through. The entire table collectively flinches as Beck Bennett tip toes around the concept that the woman in question could have just left if she felt uncomfortable. Finally, Thompson brings up the intersection of sex and race, causing everyone at the table to jolt in panic. Kate quickly pans the conversation to the movie The Shape Of Water as Bennett notices his wife has left the table.

The scene so brilliantly captures what its like to confront our own deeply ingrained ideas about consent and why the Master of None actor's current scandal has caused such a stir. 

Ansari is currently keeping a low profile after a Brooklyn-based photographer told Babe.net that he pressured her to have sex during a date even after she indicated that she wasn't interested. He later came forward with a statement confirming her account of that night while also claiming he believed it was consensual and adding, "I continue to support the movement that is happening in our culture. It is necessary and long overdue."

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