Lena Dunham Apologizes After Backlash Following Her ‘Distasteful Joke’
Published on December 21, 2016.Press Association
Not a lot of time goes by without the internet getting angry at Lena Dunham for a comment she has made, and now the Girls actress is apologizing again after facing major backlash.
During one of her recent Women of the Hour podcasts Dunham was speaking about abortion rights when she said that, while she has never had an abortion, she wishes she had so that she could better advocate for women’s reproductive rights; this did not go over well with many social media users.
The 30-year-old was accused of trivializing the often traumatizing procedure forcing her to take to her Instagram on Tuesday, December 20 to apologize for what she said.
Dunham posted a photo of the word “Choice” written on a blackboard along with the caption, “My latest podcast episode was meant to tell a multifaceted story about reproductive choice in America, to explain the many reasons women do or don’t choose to have children and what bodily autonomy really means. I’m so proud of the medley of voices in the episode. I truly hope a distasteful joke on my part won’t diminish the amazing work of all the women who participated.” She continued, “My words were spoken from a sort of “delusional girl” persona I often inhabit, a girl who careens between wisdom and ignorance (that’s what my TV show is too) and it didn’t translate. That’s my fault. I would never, ever intentionally trivialize the emotional and physical challenges of terminating a pregnancy.”
She also added, “I take reproductive choice in America more seriously than I take literally anything else, and therefore own full responsibility for any words I speak that don’t convey this truth clearly. I know plenty of people will never like a thing that leaves my lips, mea culpas or no, but this apology is for the women who have placed their trust in me. You mean everything to me. My life is and always will be devoted to reproductive justice and freedom.”
At the end of her post, Dunham explained she gave a “sizable donation” to abortion funds in New York, Texas, and Ohio.
