Lena Dunham Apologizes For Defending Girls Writer Accused Of Rape
Lena Dunham regrets the comments she made defending a Girls writer accused of rape.
As Nicki Swift previously reported, Dunham and Girls co-creator Jenni Konner released a statement to The Hollywood Reporter on Nov. 17, 2017, to voice their support for Murray Miller, a writer on the HBO show. That same day, The Wrap reported that actress Aurora Perrineau filed a complaint with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department that Miller had sexually assaulted her in 2012.
Dunham was widely criticized on social media for seemingly victim-shaming Perrineau, which prompted the Girls star to take to Twitter on Nov. 18, 2017, to express regret for her initial statement.
— 💎 Lena Dunham 💎 (@lenadunham) November 19, 2017
"As feminists, we live and die by our politics, and believing women is the first choice we make every single day when we wake up. Therefore I never thought I would issue a statement publicly supporting someone accused of sexual assault but I naively believed it was important to share my perspective on my friend's situation as it has transpired behind the scenes over the last few months," Dunham tweeted.
"I now understand that it was absolutely the wrong time to come forward with such a statement and I am so sorry," she continued. "We have been given the gift of powerful voices and by speaking out we were putting our thumb on the scale and it was wrong. We regret this decision with every fiber of our being."
The message concluded: "Every woman who comes forward deserves to be heard, fully and completely, and our relationship to the accused should not be part of the calculation anyone makes when examining her case. Every person and every feminist should be required to hear her. Under patriarchy, 'I believe you' is essential. Until we are all believed, none of us will be believed," she added. "We apologize to any women who have been disappointed."
Despite her apology, the Twitterverse still was not impressed with how Dunham handled the situation and accused her of backpedaling and saying, "sorry just to say sorry."
This isn't the first time that Dunham has landed herself in hot water, check out some other sketchy moments from the Girls star.