Lena Dunham Has Apologized for Her Support of a “Girls” Writer Accused of Sexual Assault
Lena Dunham and her Girls co-creator Jenni Konner caused a social media firestorm this weekend when they threw their support behind show writer Murray Miller after he was accused of sexual assault by Passengers actress Aurora Perrineau. Now, the RL Hannah Horvath is taking to social media to issue an apology.
The backlash began after Dunham and Konner issued a joint statement suggesting that the 23-year-old starlet’s case was one of the “three percent of assault cases that are misreported every year,” saying, “We believe, having worked closely with Murray Miller for more than half a decade, that this is the case with Murray Miller.”
The comments did not sit well with the American Horror Story: Cult actresses’ fans, who pointed out her Tweet just three months earlier which stated, “Things women do lie about: What they ate for lunch. Things they don’t lie about: Rape.”
Things women do lie about: what they ate for lunch. Things women don't lie about: rape.
— 💎 Lena Dunham 💎 (@lenadunham) August 4, 2017
Now, Dunham, 31, has backtracked on he words, penning a lengthy apology to those she has offended. “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,” she began. “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 had transpired behind the scenes over the last few months.”
— 💎 Lena Dunham 💎 (@lenadunham) November 19, 2017
Continuing on, the actress said that she now sees the error of her ways, writing, “I now understand that it was absolutely the wrong time to come forward with such a statement and I am so sorry. 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.”
Throwing her support behind women in general, the Golden Globe winner concluded, “Every women 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. We apologize to any women who have been disappointed.”
Unfortunately, fans weren’t impressed, with some citing fatigue over similar apologies she’s issued in the past, and others pointing out her failure to apologize directly to the victim.
So Lena Dunham made a huge ‘apology’ for her ‘naive’ comments standing by her friend over sexual assault claims – without even mentioning the victim’s name. It’s Aurora Perrineau. Pathetic. https://t.co/hPJQ544j2R
— Rishma Dosani (@Rishma_Dosani) November 19, 2017
1. Lena Dunham does or says something stupid/offensive
2. Backlash ensues where everyone drags her to hell amd back
3. Then she cooks up some dumb apology abt how she sees the world through her white feminist colored glasses
Rinse, Repeat, she is a fake pic.twitter.com/ACdRWnuUpN
— Star (@underthestars88) November 19, 2017
Me during every Lena Dunham apology: pic.twitter.com/AxGjipQYiQ
— freddie ransome (@Ransome_Note) November 19, 2017
Has anybody made an "It's been XX days since Lena Dunham's latest apology" website yet?
— Hannah Al-Othman 🐝 (@HannahAlOthman) November 19, 2017
Seeing Lena Dunham’s apology pic.twitter.com/8d7XomHws4
— Eliza Duckworth (@duckworth_eliza) November 19, 2017
Lena Dunham's history of performative apologising:
In essence, she's not sorry. Never has been sorry. Never will be sorry. And looks forward to her next apology. pic.twitter.com/dw7U80AgII
— ▫️ (@KeloidKrown) November 19, 2017
Perrineau has not commented.
What do you think of Lena’s apology? Let us know over @BritandCo.
(Photo via Michael Loccisano/Getty)