It took giving him a shiny award, but on Tuesday night, at the Moth’s 20th Anniversary Gala in New York City, the organization finally got Aziz Ansari to join the ranks of fellow comedians like Louis C.K., Mike Birbiglia, Jessi Klein and tell a personal story.
Ansari was the Moth Ball’s guest of honor and the recipient of the Moth Award for “the art of raconteur” for his work on Master of None. However, after saying the obligatory thank yous and reiterating the importance of storytelling, the stand-up/actor/writer/director/Lil Bud wasn’t allowed to just grab his award and bolt. This was an award from the Moth, of course, so he had to tell a story, which Ansari joked was “kinda fucked up.” “It seems like I already did that shit … It’s why I’m getting the award.”
Ansari played along, though, and told the real-life and somewhat surreal story that inspired Master of None’s “Religion” episode. Ansari has told this exact same story two times in the past—once on Conan and, most recently, on Fresh Air—but Ansari’s delivery keeps the story fresh and, of course, funny.
