After publicly denouncing Aurora Perrineau’s #MeToo story, Lena Dunham has issued a public apology to the actress.
In November of 2017, Perrineau revealed the The Wrap that she filed a police report against Girls writer Murray Miller, whom she alleges sexually assaulted her in 2012 when she was 17. Miller vehemently denies the accusations. Shortly after Perrineau’s story was made public, Dunham and her (now former) producing partner Jenni Konner released a statement in The Hollywood Reporter declaring that Perrineau’s accusation was false.
“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,” the pair said.
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After publishing this statement, Dunham walked back the statement on Twitter, writing:
“Under patriarchy, ‘I believe you’ is essential. Until we are all believed, none of us will be believed. We apologize to any woman who has been disappointed.”
Now, Dunham has revealed to The Hollywood Reporter that her initial response to Perrineau’s story — which she called “inexcusable” in her statement — is one of her biggest regrets.
“I didn't have the ‘insider information’ I claimed but rather blind faith in a story that kept slipping and changing and revealed itself to mean nothing at all,” the Camping producer wrote in THR. “I wanted to feel my workplace and my world were safe, untouched by the outside world (a privilege in and of itself, the privilege of ignoring what hasn't hurt you) and I claimed that safety at cost to someone else, someone very special.”
She also added a statement which suggests that Perrineau gave Dunham permission to write this piece. (Refinery29 has reached out to representatives for Perrineau for comment.)
"Aurora — your bravery, openness, forgiveness, dignity and grace in the face of legal proceedings and endless questioning and in the face of my statement has been astounding. You've been a model of stoicism, all the while reminding other women that their assault experiences are theirs to process as they wish (with noise, with silence, with rage — it's all OK). You have generously allowed me to speak about your many virtues here and tell these readers that you are moving on as a woman and as an artist. You have inspired me to do the same, and I know I'm not alone."
Dunham concludes her statement with an official "I'm sorry."
If you have experienced sexual violence and are in need of crisis support, please call the RAINN Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).