Amy Poehler has been blasted by fans after she interviewed her friend and former Parks And Recreation co-star Aziz Ansari on her Good Hang podcast.
The SNL star, 54, has earned a legion of new fans since launching the series in March, however, her latest guest left several of her followers vowing to unsubscribe after boycotting the episode.
Ansari, 42, has found himself at the centre of scandal lately after he agreed to perform at a comedy festival in Saudi Arabia.
The festival featured performances from numerous high-profile comics, including Pete Davidson, Dave Chappelle, Louis CK, Kevin Hart and Jimmy Carr.
However, the comedians have been accused of taking ‘blood money’ from outraged critics, given Saudia Arabia’s track record of human rights abuses and the ongoing repression of political dissidents and religious minorities.
Last week, Ansari – who is on the promo trail for his new movie, Good Fortune – was grilled for his involvement during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live.
However, fans noted that the subject was not touched on at all by Poehler during his podcast appearance.
Amy Poehler has been blasted by fans after she interviewed her friend and former Parks And Recreation co-star Aziz Ansari on her Good Hang podcast
The SNL star, 54, has earned a legion of new fans since launching the series in March, however, her latest guest left several of her followers vowing to unsubscribe
Notably, Ansari was also not questioned about the sexual misconduct allegation made towards him in 2018 in an anonymous article.
At the time Ansari acknowledged the encounter with the woman but did not admit to misconduct and claimed he believed their interaction to be consensual.
He has remained largely out of the public eye in the years that followed, with Good Fortune marking his grand return to the spotlight.
Yet during his interview with Poehler, the conversation was kept light, with the pair reminiscing about their work on Parks And Rec, and Ansari explaining that he likes to stay off grid without email and using an old flip phone.
Fans were quick to call out Poehler for not questioning her friend, taking to the comments section to pen: ‘Not watching this because Aziz went to Saudi Arabia. Gross.’;
‘I’m going to assume this was recorded months ago for neither of you to have mentioned Saudi Arabia but you should’ve at least done a quick insert at the start of the pod stating how you felt about it (which I hope you weren’t cool with your “turkey sandwich” doing) because you all should’ve known everyone in the comments were going to be speaking about it… I understand that he’s your friend but friends should still be held accountable for their f**k ups.’;
‘Booooo. Love you Amy but having guests willing to take money from that Saudi butcher is incredibly tone deaf. Not watching this garbage’; ‘Everyone loves the podcast so when the comments look as they do right now you know something’s up.
‘What a bad time to post this episode. I was really looking forward to this weeks episode after the great one last week. Real bummer..’; ‘Really disappointed to see Ansari here in light of his taking money from the organizers of the Riyadh comedy festival. Such a shame.’
Fans were quick to call out Poehler for not questioning her friend, taking to the comments section to pen: ‘ Not watching this because Aziz went to Saudi Arabia. Gross’
Not everyone was outraged, however, with some praising Poehler for the episode
‘I’m a fan of you and your podcast but I’m not watching this one. I know he’s a friend but big mistake on this one’; ‘Wow I was so excited to watch today’s new ep and now so bummed it’s him :/’;
‘I’m disappointed in Amy for being relaxed with him. Basically giving him a pass for not only this comedy festival, but also, all the other allegations’; ‘A shame. Every other episode was an instant listen.
‘Man, you’d think a comedian would know a thing or two about “timing”. ‘I’m a fan of you and your podcast but I’m not watching this one.’; ‘I know he’s a friend but big mistake on this one.’
Not everyone was outraged, however, with some praising Poehler for the episode.
They shared: ‘I’m still glad Aziz came on the pod. Nobody knows what the truth is, maybe shouldn’t judge if you don’t know’;
‘Thanks Amy for having Aziz this was a wonderful episode. Keep up the good laughs! We love you’;
‘Wonderful interview! I love their chemistry and real friendship.’
Daily Mail has contacted Poehler’s representatives for comment.
During his interview with Poehler, the conversation was kept light, with the pair reminiscing about their work on Parks And Rec, and Ansari explaining that he likes to stay off grid
Last week, Ansari addressed the Saudi Arabia controversy during an interview with Kimmel.
‘It’s a pretty brutal regime,’ Kimmel reminded Ansari. ‘They’ve done a lot of horrible, horrible things.’
But Ansari said he had given his performance ‘a lot of thought,’ and he ultimately decided that ‘A comedy festival felt like something that’s pushing things to be more open and to push a dialogue.
‘You kind of have to make a choice of whether you’re going to isolate or engage. For me, especially being me and looking the way I do and being from a Muslim background, it felt like something I should be a part of,’ he said.
Ansari then vowed to donate a portion to his fee from performing at the Riyadh Comedy Festival to organizations including Human Rights Watch and Reporters Without Borders.
But on Thursday, Human Rights Watch announced that it ‘cannot accept’ Ansari’s donation, nor donations from any other comedians who performed at the festival and ‘generously offered to donate part of their performance fees,’ according to a statement to Variety.
‘But while we cannot accept, it is not too late for [the comedians] to call for the release of detained Saudi activists,’ said Joey Shea, a Human Rights Watch researcher focused on Saudi Arabia.
‘Human Rights Watch didn’t call for comedians to boycott the Riyadh Comedy Festival, but simply asked them to express their support for free speech by urging the release of Saudi activists unjustly imprisoned,’ she added.
Poehler and Ansari worked on NBC’s Parks and Recreation (pictured with co-stars Chris Pratt, Aubrey Plaza, Retta, Rashida Jones, Nick Offerman, Rob Lowe, Adam Scott and Jim O’Heir)
Ansari has kept a low-profile in recent years since being accused of sexual assault.
In January 2018, a then 23-year-old Brooklyn photographer who called herself Grace accused the Golden Globe winner of sexual misconduct after they went on a date the year before that she claims was ‘violating and painful’.
In a Babe.net article that divided public opinion, the woman claimed Ansari repeatedly tried to pressure her into having sex over the course of the night.
The woman said she met Ansari at an after-party for the Emmys in Los Angeles on September 17 when she noticed they had both brought the same kind of film cameras.
The pair reportedly exchanged phone numbers and later made plans for a date when they had both returned to New York.
On Monday, September 25, she said she went to Ansari’s swanky TriBeCa apartment, where they drank white wine and talked.
‘I didn’t get to choose and I prefer red, but it was white wine,’ she recalled.
Ansari then walked her a few blocks away to Grand Banks, an oyster bar on a historic wooden schooner on the Hudson River, she told the publication. She claimed the dinner proceeded and Ansari seemed in a rush to get her elsewhere.
When the pair returned to his apartment on trendy Franklin Street, she said they kissed, but she declined sex when Ansari offered to get a condom.
Ansari has kept a low-profile in recent years since being accused of sexual assault from an anonymous woman – a claim that he denied at the time
She claims he performed oral sex on her and then asked her to reciprocate, which she did, and that he stuck his fingers down her throat and allegedly kept moving her hand towards his penis.
‘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 f***ing game.’
When the woman stood up to leave, Ansari insisted on calling a car for her, she claims. He allegedly instructed her to use the name ‘Essence’ with the driver.
The next day, before the woman could figure out what to say to Ansari about the date, he allegedly sent her a text message.
‘It was fun meeting you last night,’ the message read.
The woman responded: ‘Last night might’ve been fun for you, but it wasn’t for me. You ignored clear non-verbal clues; you kept going with advances.
‘I want to make sure you’re aware so maybe the next girl doesn’t have to cry on the ride home.’
Ansari allegedly replied: ‘I’m so sad to hear this. Clearly, I misread things in the moment and I’m truly sorry.’
Ansari is now returning to the spotlight with his feature directorial debut Good Fortune, a supernatural comedy film in which he stars alongside Seth Rogen and Keanu Reeves
When the article came out, Ansari acknowledged the encounter with the woman but did not admit to misconduct.
‘It was true that everything did seem okay to me, so when I heard that it was not the case for her, I was surprised and concerned. I took her words to heart and responded privately after taking the time to process what she had said. I continue to support the movement that is happening in our culture. It is necessary and long overdue,’ he said.
Amidst the MeToo movement that’s revolutionized the entertainment industry, the allegations against Ansari divided the public, who couldn’t agree on whether or not his action constituted sexual assault.
While many argued the comedian’s behavior didn’t have to be illegal to be improper and disavowed, others said what the woman described was simply a bad date, which does not equal sexual abuse.
Ansari is now returning to the spotlight with his feature directorial debut Good Fortune, a supernatural comedy film in which he stars alongside Seth Rogen and Keanu Reeves.
The story follows a ‘well-meaning but inept’ angel named Gabriel (Reeves), and his failed attempt to show Arj (Ansari), a struggling gig worker that money doesn’t solve one’s problems.
He body swaps Arj with his boss, a wealthy venture capitalist named Jeff (Rogen), an action that costs Gabriel his wings and causes the work he did as an angel to unravel.