JUST STOP

Lena Dunham Apologizes for Saying ‘I Wish I Had’ an Abortion

Says it was a “distasteful joke.”

Lena Dunham has apologized for comments this week that she wishes she’d had an abortion so that she could better fight the stigma involved with the process. “I truly hope a distasteful joke on my part won’t diminish the amazing work of all the women who participated” in her podcast about reproductive choice, Dunham wrote in an Instagram note late Tuesday. “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.” Acknowledging that her words have pushed some too far, Dunham concluded, “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.”