Lena Waithe, creator of The Chi and one of the stars of Master of None, recently spoke to KPCC's The Frame about allegations of sexual misconduct on the part of Master of None co-creator and star Aziz Ansari.
A few weeks ago, Ansari found himself in the swarm of controversy when babe released an article detailing a woman's account of a nonconsensual sexual encounter with the comedian.
Ansari responded to the accusations claiming, "We ended up engaging in sexual activity, which by all indications was completely consensual." Ansari noted he was "surprised and concerned" by the woman's account and that he continues to support the #MeToo movement.
When asked what she thought about all of this, Waithe definitely had something to say.
“Here’s the truth — in every situation, it’s not always black-and-white. 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,” Waithe answered.
“I’m not on Harvey Weinstein’s side, I’m not on Kevin Spacey’s side," she continued. "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 added that overall, she is completely onboard for continuing conversations about consent, even if they're especially uncomfortable.
“I think if we’re unwilling to have a dialogue we’re gonna continue to keep hitting our heads against the wall,” she noted. “We have to create codes of conduct. Those are things that we need. ’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? Even though some people may assume, 'Well, of course we all know what appropriate behavior is,' but some people may not know.”