Lena Dunham issues second response to sexual abuse controversy

"I do not condone any kind of abuse under any circumstances," the HBO star said

Published November 4, 2014 6:45PM (EST)

Lena Dunham                        (AP/Evan Agostini)
Lena Dunham (AP/Evan Agostini)

After tweeting a "rage spiral" and threatening a lawsuit over the weekend, Lena Dunham has issued yet another response to the ongoing controversy over a passage in her debut memoir, "Not That Kind of Girl," which has been cited as evidence for claims that Dunham sexually abused her sister, Grace, as a child. In a statement to Time, Dunham expressed her disappointment at the charges and confirmed that the anecdote in question was included in the book with her sister's approval:

I am dismayed over the recent interpretation of events described in my book Not That Kind of Girl.

First and foremost, I want to be very clear that I do not condone any kind of abuse under any circumstances.

Childhood sexual abuse is a life-shattering event for so many, and I have been vocal about the rights of survivors. If the situations described in my book have been painful or triggering for people to read, I am sorry, as that was never my intention. I am also aware that the comic use of the term “sexual predator” was insensitive, and I’m sorry for that as well.

As for my sibling, Grace, she is my best friend, and anything I have written about her has been published with her approval.

Grace discreetly issued her own response to the controversy via Twitter on Monday, tweeting, "As a queer person: i'm committed to people narrating their own experiences, determining for themselves what has and has not been harmful [sic]."


By Jenny Kutner

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Child Abuse Grace Dunham Lena Dunham Not That Kind Of Girl Rage Spiral Sexual Abuse Time Twitter