Penguin Random House is going to alter future versions of Lena Dunham‘s memoir “Not That Kind of Girl” to reflect that the man accused of sexually assaulting the “Girls” star at Oberlin College is not actually named Barry, and that the assigned moniker is simply a pseudonym.
“We have put the change in process,” Random House told TheWrap exclusively. “The digital edition of ‘Not That Kind of Girl’ will reflect that ‘Barry’ is a pseudonym. Future printings of the physical book will also have that change.”
Previously, Aaron Minc, the attorney for the man dubbed “Barry One” by Breitbart News, told TheWrap that his team was working with Random House to make sure the change takes place going forward.
Dunham’s book specified when a pseudonym was used in other parts of her narrative, but it was not explicitly stated in this instance, leading some to take the description and name at face value.
Earlier, Random House cleared Minc’s client’s name via TheWrap.
“As indicated on the copyright page of ‘Not That Kind of Girl’ by Lena Dunham, some names and identifying details in the book have been changed. The name ‘Barry’ referenced in the book is a pseudonym,” the publisher told TheWrap exclusively. “Random House, on our own behalf and on behalf of our author, regrets the confusion that has led attorney Aaron Minc to post on GoFundMe on behalf of his client, whose first name is Barry.”
“We are offering to pay the fees Mr. Minc has billed his client to date,” Random House continued. “Our offer will allow Mr. Minc and his client to donate all of the crowd-funding raised to not-for-profit organizations assisting survivors of rape and sexual assault.”
In her book, Dunham identifies a man who she claims sexually assaulted her in college as a Republican named Barry. A Breitbart investigation led the website to come up empty on a man fitting the very colorful additional description painted by Dunham, which included particulars such as a “flamboyant” mustache, a very deep voice and purple cowboy boots.
That said, some of the basics pointed toward Minc’s client, whose name is Barry and was a well-known Republican who attended liberal arts school Oberlin College at the time Dunham was a student there. Minc’s client says he never even met Dunham.
“Anyone with half a brain and access to Google has already discovered that, during Dunham’s time at Oberlin College, there was a prominent Republican named Barry who was politically active and quite well-known,” Breitbart reporter John Nolte wrote last week. He then set out to exonerate the man that some assumed to be the accused attacker.
The alleged assault occurred when Dunham was 19.
In his length investigative piece, Nolte recounted sexually explicit details from Dunham’s memoir: that “Barry” inserted his fingers in her vagina at one point without consent and later, during a particularly rough sexual encounter, removed his condom twice, also without consent. The blogger also notes that Dunham replied “yes” when radio personality Howard Stern asked her on air if she had been raped.