Lena Dunham came to the defense of a “Girls” writer accused of rape on Friday, and some Twitter users have called her out for choosing to support the alleged perpetrator over his female accuser.
“Never call yourself an advocate for women again because you’ve just proven that you are NOT,” one user wrote. Several others dug up a tweet of Dunham’s from August in which she said women do not lie about rape.
The backlash came after Dunham spoke out against actress Aurora Perrineau, who filed a police report on Friday saying she did not consent to sex with “Girls” writer Murray Miller in 2012 when she was 17.
“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 in a statement cosigned by her “Girls” showrunner Jenni Konner.
“It is a true shame to add to that number, as outside of Hollywood women still struggle to be believed. We stand by Murray and this is all we’ll be saying about this issue,” the statement continued.
“Lena Dunham and Jenni Konner have spent so much time boasting about their feminist political commitments. Yet, all of their feminist righteousness goes out of the window as soon as their friend is accused. White women are an absolute trip,” wrote Bitch Media senior culture editor Evette Dionne.
As TheWrap first reported, Perrineau said she was with two friends when Miller asked one of them for a ride home “because he was drunk,” and the group agreed. Miller was 35 at the time. “At some point, I woke up in Murray’s bed naked. He was on top of me having sexual intercourse with me. At no time did I consent to any sexual contact with Murray,” she said in a statement.
Miller denied the accusations through an attorney, saying his team had “gathered overwhelming evidence directly contradicting these false and offensive claims” and “looks forward to sharing all evidence and information with any and all authorities seeking the truth in this matter.”
See reactions to Dunham and Konner’s statement below:
what is wrong with you, for real https://t.co/7anyEUSeZy
— c a i t l i n (@hello__caitlin) November 18, 2017
Lena Dunham and Jenni Konner have spent so much time boasting about their feminist political commitments. Yet, all of their feminist righteousness goes out of the window as soon as their friend is accused. White women are an absolute trip. https://t.co/gRk10NHlt9
— Evette Dionne (@freeblackgirl) November 18, 2017
https://twitter.com/inthesedeserts/status/931701170208411649
He worked on her show so she “knows him”. You don’t know him girl. Nice try. You hired a rapist. #truthhurts #fakefeminist
— Emmi Takemoto (@EmmiTakemoto) November 18, 2017
https://twitter.com/KatFiore13/status/931685083248967680
Hypocrite
— e (@ebummmmmm) November 18, 2017
This just in: Lena Dunham is still trash as fuck. https://t.co/BF3CPkywHO
— first of all, bitch, … (@thejournalista) November 18, 2017
https://twitter.com/Chet_Cannon/status/931700329774686208
When Lena Dunham is trending and you already know it's all bad pic.twitter.com/nPjIps3iEs
— rosechocglam (@rosechocglam) November 18, 2017
i never want to see any publication hail lena dunham as a feminist icon ever again https://t.co/F89YvP7BHM
— jor (@wombpatrol) November 18, 2017
Please stop letting Lena Dunham speak for my generation. https://t.co/n9Dq4Cwnof
— Kate Feldman (@kateefeldman) November 18, 2017