In the wake of her defense of Girls writer Murray Miller, who has been accused of sexually assaulting actress Aurora Perrineau, Lena Dunham has apologized for her comments. After taking criticism across the world of social media, Dunham posted a tweet explaining why she was wrong, deleted it, then hastily re-posted it. The writer, actress, and director (who has apologized for quite a few things over the years) made it clear that she made a mistake, saying: “I now understand that it was absolutely the wrong time to come forward with such a statement and I am so sorry.”
— Lena Dunham (@lenadunham) November 19, 2017
This is her statement in full:
“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 publically (sic) 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. 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.
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. We apologize to any women who have been disappointed.”
Dunham is now being critiqued for her apology, and for her past apologies, with people saying she’s picking and choosing when she can claim the feminist label.
https://twitter.com/daibyday/status/932054257431232513
https://twitter.com/daibyday/status/932057592834154496
https://twitter.com/RyanBenharris/status/932065774054801413
https://twitter.com/hotmesslie/status/932054501434912768
Of course, underneath those critiques of her defense, there are people calling her names and mocking her appearance.
(Via The Hollywood Reporter)
