One of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s most vocal supporters is Lena Dunham, the actress of Girls fame who has since become something of a political lightening rod by her own right. So when she endorsed Clinton in early January and started campaigning with her in New Hampshire and Iowa, nobody was really surprised. However, according to a new report by The New York Times, Dunham wasn’t always as sure about Hillary as she’s made herself out to be.
Political news blog The Hill points out that one of the biggest reveals in Wednesday’s NYT article about former President Bill Clinton’s past sexual misconducts and how they are affecting Hillary’s campaign is Dunham’s prior misgivings. According to “several people with knowledge of the discussion who would speak about it only anonymously,” the Girls actress wasn’t too impressed with how the Clintons had apparently smeared the many women who accused Bill of sexual assault in the ’90s.
At an Upper East Side dinner party a few months back, Ms. Dunham expressed more conflicted feelings. She told the guests, at the Park Avenue apartment of Richard Plepler, the chief executive of HBO, that she was disturbed by how, in the 1990s, the Clintons and their allies discredited women who said they had had sexual encounters with or been sexually assaulted by former President Bill Clinton.
When the NYT tried to reach Dunham’s camp for comment, she refused to speak on the matter directly. However, her spokesperson, Cindi Berger told the paper that Dunham is “fully supportive of Hillary Clinton and her track record for protecting women.” She also described the anonymous sources’ recollection of the actress’ dinner part comments as a “total mischaracterization” of what was actually said.
Even so, the report’s allegations have focused more attention on Hillary’s alleged past treatment of women. In addition, the news adds a fresh layer of paint to a target Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has already aimed for in several ads and speeches.
(The New York Times via The Hill)