Amy Schumer says she was 'flat-out raped'
Amy Schumer revealed that she was sexually assaulted when she was younger.
Speaking to Katie Couric on her Wonder Women podcast, Schumer said, “I’ve been flat-out raped.” The actress continued, “But there are so many other kinds of sexual misconduct. We’ve all — every woman I know, every woman in this room — we’ve all had these experiences.” She emphasized that “in this current climate, it brings these things up and you go, ‘God, none of that was OK.’”
The 36-year-old comedian had a similar experience while writing her 2016 memoir, The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo, in which she reveals that her first sexual encounter was not consensual. “I didn’t think about it until I started reading my journal again,” she told Marie Claire. Speaking to Couric, she elaborated, “When it happened, I wrote about it almost like a throwaway. It was like, ‘And then I looked down and realized he was inside me.’ He was saying, ‘I’m so sorry,’ and ‘I can’t believe I did this.’”
Schumer also discussed the sex scandals engulfing Hollywood with Couric, specifically talking about the case of her friend Aziz Ansari. Ansari was accused of sexual misconduct by a woman he went on a date with last year, and she shared the details in an essay titled, “I went on a date with Aziz Ansari. It turned into the worst night of my life.”
Schumer explained that while not every case may be criminal, it’s important that such encounters are brought out into the open. “If you have a doctor that makes you uncomfortable, or you get a massage, or you have a date with someone and they coerce you in a situation like the Aziz [Ansari] one, I don’t think there’s any sort of criminal charge, but I think that it’s good for everybody to learn that that behavior’s not acceptable,” she said. “It’s not a crime, but it’s not cool. And it can still really mess with a woman. … We just can’t let things continue the way they’ve continued, because there are so many different levels of it.”
The Parks and Recreation star was accused of ignoring signals that his date was uncomfortable with his sexual advances, and persisted regardless. He’s since said he believed the encounter was “completely consensual” and was “surprised and concerned” by his date’s accusations.
“I don’t think anyone wants to see Aziz’s career ruined or his life ruined or anything like that, but that’s where people’s minds go,” Schumer continued. “They go, ‘Does he deserve this?’ And it’s really not about that. I think it’s about expressing and showing women that that behavior is not okay, and not only can you leave, but you need to leave. Because then the women who come after you — you’re leaving a mark for them too.”
Schumer concluded, “He’s been my friend and I really feel for the woman. I identify with all the women in these situations. Even if it’s my friend, I don’t go, ‘Oh, but he’s a good guy.’ I think, ‘What would it feel like to have been her?’”
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