Three years after being branded a #MeToo predator over dubious allegations, actor Aziz Ansari’s show “Master of None” returned to Netflix over the weekend.
Though Aziz Ansari returned to the show, according to Vanity Fair, his character, Dev, has been reduced to little more than background noise while the characters Denise and Alicia have become the main focus.
“Aziz Ansari isn’t the center of Master of None anymore. In the show’s third season, released Sunday—subtitled Moments in Love—the narrative firmly belongs to Denise (Lena Waithe) and her partner, Alicia (Naomi Ackie, the season’s true star),” reported the outlet. “Ansari, who starred in the first two seasons as Dev, a lovesick actor and reality-competition host, retreats into the background of the show. But he doesn’t disappear completely. Instead, he pops up for a pair of cameos, casting the character—and Ansari himself—in a revealing new light.”
Aziz Ansari is still billed as the show’s creator. He also directed several episodes wherein his character Dev has been presented in a “less-than-flattering” light due to his relationship with his girlfriend.
“This new relationship is the first sign that Ansari has opted to cast Dev in a less-than-flattering light this season. He and Reshmi are cute at first, playing the part of the couple in love—but as the dinner party goes on, the knives come out,” Vanity Fair noted. “They start to bicker, with Reshmi complaining loudly about how they live with his parents in Queens now. (RIP to Dev’s beautiful, improbably huge apartment.) Dev’s career has been torched; he’s no longer an actor or a reality-TV-competition host, but an assistant to the accounting department of NCIS: Brooklyn, in addition to being a part-time TaskRabbit.”
In 2018, Ansari’s career was nearly torpedoed at the height of the #MeToo movement when an anonymous photographer published an article on the now-defunct Babe.net accusing him of sexual misconduct over what amounted to little more than an awkward date. The article prompted such intense backlash that even Ashleigh Banfield of HLN denounced it.
“I’m sorry that you had a bad date. I have had a few myself. They stink. I’m sure it must be really weighing on you. It’s hard being a victim – very painful – just ask anyone who’s been on that end of crime and justice. I cover them every day; it’s no picnic. But let’s take a moment to reflect on what you claim was the ‘worst night of your life,'” said Banfield.
“You had a bad date. Your date got overly amorous. After protesting his moves, you did not get up and leave right away; you continued to engage in the sexual encounter,” she continued. “By your own clear description, this was not a rape, nor was it a sexual assault. By your description, your sexual encounter was unpleasant. It did not send you to the police; it did not affect your workplace or your ability to get a job. So, I have to ask you, what exactly was your beef? That you had a bad date with Aziz Ansari? Is that what victimized you to the point of seeking a public conviction and a career-ending sentence against him? Is that truly what you thought he deserved for your night out?”