Yesterday (December 20), Lena Dunham raised eyebrows and angry tweets when she claimed, "I still haven't had an abortion, but I wish I had" on the latest episode of her Women of the Hour podcast. In the wake of vehement backlash online, the actress has issued an apology.
Dunham took to Instagram to make amends for her "distasteful joke" and clarify her pro-choice stance.
In addition to expressing her hope that her own mistake wouldn't diminish the work of others involved with the podcast and the fight for women's reproductive rights in general, Dunham admitted to messing up her "pro-choice messaging" and made donations to abortion funds in New York, Texas and Ohio in an attempt to counteract the damage.
Dunham's full apology message reads:
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.
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.
My only goal is to increase awareness and decrease stigma. 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.
You know how in some households you curse and have to put money in a jar? Well in mine, if you mess up your pro-choice messaging you have to give a sizable donation to abortion funds (https://abortionfunds.org/need-abortion) in New York, Texas and Ohio.
I look forward to fighting with you all for the next four years and beyond.
Dunham took to Instagram to make amends for her "distasteful joke" and clarify her pro-choice stance.
In addition to expressing her hope that her own mistake wouldn't diminish the work of others involved with the podcast and the fight for women's reproductive rights in general, Dunham admitted to messing up her "pro-choice messaging" and made donations to abortion funds in New York, Texas and Ohio in an attempt to counteract the damage.
Dunham's full apology message reads:
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.
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.
My only goal is to increase awareness and decrease stigma. 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.
You know how in some households you curse and have to put money in a jar? Well in mine, if you mess up your pro-choice messaging you have to give a sizable donation to abortion funds (https://abortionfunds.org/need-abortion) in New York, Texas and Ohio.
I look forward to fighting with you all for the next four years and beyond.