People Are FUMING At Lena Dunham After She Defends 'Girls' Writer Accused Of Sexual Assault

20 November 2017, 15:11

Lena Dunham Lenny Letter Party
Picture: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images

By Katie Louise Smith

Dunham and Girls co-creator Jenni Konner have already issued an apology for their original statement.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 75th Annual cancelling of Lena Dunham.

Yes. The internet has, once again, cancelled Lena Dunham for defending Girls writer Murray Miller after he was accused of sexual assault by actress Aurora Perrineau.

According to The Wrap who first reported the claims, Perrineau accused Miller of raping her in 2012 when she was 17 years old. He was 35 at the time. You can read the full report right here. (WARNING: Details are distressing.)

After the assault was reported, Dunham and Girls co-creator Jenni Konner came to Miller's defence, claiming Perrineau's claims were false.

Lena Dunham Jenni Konner Lenny Letter Party
Picture: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images

They issued a joint statement defending him:

"During the windfall of deeply necessary accusations over the last few months in Hollywood, we have been thrilled to see so many women’s voices heard and dark experiences in this industry justified. It’s a hugely important time of change and, like every feminist in Hollywood and beyond, we celebrate. But during every time of change there are also incidences of the culture, in its enthusiasm and zeal, taking down the wrong targets.

"We believe, having worked closely with him for more than half a decade, that this is the case with Murray Miller. While our first instinct is to listen to every woman’s story, our insider knowledge of Murray’s situation makes us confident that sadly this accusation is one of the 3 percent of assault cases that are misreported every year. It is a true shame to add to that number, as outside of Hollywood women still struggle to be believed. We stand by Murray and this is all we’ll be saying about this issue."

Not only did Dunham, feminist extraordinaire, *immediately* dismiss the claims of a woman of colour in favour of her white male friend, she perpetuated the exact rape culture that she has previously been so dedicated to getting rid of by issuing that statement. She blindly downplayed the very serious accusations made by a woman because the accused was a personal friend.

Almost immediately after tweeting the statement in defence of Miller, the internet called her (and Konner) FUCK out on it.

To make matters worse, Dunham - who is usually extremely outspoken when it comes to women stepping forward with harassment or assault claims - tweeted this pretty statement on August 4th 2017. Life DOES come at you fast, huh?

After huge online backlash, Dunham later issued an apology for defending Miller saying "I now understand that it was absolutely the wrong time to come forward with such a statement and I am so sorry."

While the damage and unfortunate reinforcement of rape culture was already done, the apology was the right thing to do. However, there's one huge glaring problem... Dunham apologised to "any women who have been disappointed," which is fine but she neglected to apologise specifically to Aurora Perrineau, the *actual* woman she so publicly discredited.

One of the biggest reasons women don't speak out about their assaults (and often report it years later) is because they fear people will call them liars. Next time, even if you THINK it, just keep quiet and maybe don't discredit a woman for having the bravery to speak out about assault just because you think your mate ~wouldn't do something like that~.

The accusations against Miller are now being investigated by the Los Angeles Police Department.