Aziz Ansari is the latest high-profile star to go after Donald Trump for some of the outrageous comments he has made. In an op-ed, Ansari said that Trump’s temporary ban on Muslims and the events in Orlando got him to fear for his family – and he has asked them to avoid going to mosques.
Aziz Ansari rips through Donald Trump for his insensitive comments made after the Orlando terrorist attack that left 49 people dead as they were celebrating in a gay nightclub.
The Animals actor, who was born in Columbia, South Carolina to a Tamil Muslim family from Tamil Nadu, India, is an atheist. The outspoken star published his op-ed entitled “Why Trump Makes Me Scared for My Family” in the New York Times on Friday.
The comedian opened his piece by saying that Trump’s reaction to the shooting and his plans to temporary ban all Muslims from entering America have pushed him to ask his mother, Fatima, to stop going to the mosque because he fears for her. He wrote:
“Today, with the presidential candidate Donald J. Trump and others like him spewing hate speech, prejudice is reaching new levels. It’s visceral, and scary, and it affects how people live, work and pray. It makes me afraid for my family. It also makes no sense.”
He went on to say that it felt rather odd to tell an American citizen to be prudent on how and where she praises her God. The stand-up comedian revealed:
“DON’T go anywhere near a mosque,” I told my mother. “Do all your prayer at home. O.K.?” “We’re not going,” she replied. I am the son of Muslim immigrants. As I sent that text, in the aftermath of the horrible attack in Orlando, Fla., I realized how awful it was to tell an American citizen to be careful about how she worshiped.
The actor and screenwriter took the opportunity to provide the Obama administration with some advice on how to defeat terrorism. He explained that common sense gun control and aiding those with mental issues are the first steps, and added:
“One way to decrease the risk of terrorism is clear: Keep military-grade weaponry out of the hands of mentally unstable people, those with a history of violence, and those on F.B.I. watch lists. But, despite sit-ins and filibusters, our lawmakers are failing us on this front and choose instead to side with the National Rifle Association. Suspected terrorists can buy assault rifles, but we’re still carrying tiny bottles of shampoo to the airport. If we’re going to use the ‘they’ll just find another way’ argument, let’s use that to let us keep our shoes on.”
The Parks and Recreation actor concluded by saying what many Americans were thinking, how could have Trump shared a congratulatory tweet after 49 innocent clubgoers were massacred? Ansari went on Twitter to beat Trump on his on turf in a simple tweet that read:
Trump wants to ban Muslim immigrants like my parents. I wrote a piece for @NYTimes telling him to go fuck himself: https://t.co/MCDsQyz2jy
— Aziz Ansari (@azizansari) June 24, 2016
Trump has a lot of fervent supporters, but those, who oppose his ideas seem (finally) ready to really challenge them.
