Lena Dunham Retracts Her Defense of ‘Girls’ Writer Accused of Rape

“Every woman who comes forward deserves to be heard, fully and completely,” Dunham apologizes

Lena Dunham Girls Murray Miller
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Lena Dunham walked back her defense of former “Girls” executive producer and writer Murray Miller, who was accused Friday of raping actress Aurora Perrineau in 2012 when she was 17.

Dunham apologized Saturday for not supporting Perrineau, saying she was “absolutely wrong” for accusing her of submitting a false report.

“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,” Dunham tweeted.

After Perrineau went to police Friday, Dunham cast doubt on her account.

“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% of assault cases that are misreported every year,” Dunham said through a spokesperson Friday.

But backlash came quickly. She was called a “hypocrite” — among other things — for contradicting her comments from August when she said “women don’t lie about rape.”

Read Dunham’s apology below:

“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 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 wrong 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.”

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