Lena Dunham is getting very good at issuing apologies.
In the past, the actress has issued Mea Culpas for cracking wise about her uncle molesting her and also for comments she made about New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr.
This time, however, Dunham is here to walk back a remark she made on a recent podcast in which she said she wishes she had had an abortion.
Her major bad, right?
The outspoken liberal star was featured this week on the program Women of the Hour, explaining how she had never undergone through the turmoil of terminating a pregnancy.
When speaking to those who had undergone this procedure, and trying to advocate for their rights, Dunham realized that she could not fully understand what they went through.
This prompted Dunham to tell her audience the following:
“I wish I had an abortion.”
Watch the video below to hear her make this unfortunate remark:
The criticism came fast and furiously against Dunham in light of this outlandish desire.
She was slammed on social media for her comments, with many users branding her “offensive” and accusing her of trivializing the procedure.
It’s understandable why folks would have this reaction.
Here’s a sampling of what they wrote:
And a few more, with the vitriol best summed up by the final Tweet, in our opinion:
On Tuesday, not long after her controversial comments went viral, Dunham posted a lengthy explanation and apology on Instagram.
Here it is, in its entirety:
My latest podcast episode was meant to tell a multifaceted story about reproductive choice in America, to explain the many reasons women do or don’t choose to have children and what bodily autonomy really means. I’m so proud of the medley of voices in the episode.
I truly hope a distasteful joke on my part won’t diminish the amazing work of all the women who participated.
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. My only goal is to increase awareness and decrease stigma. I take reproductive choice in America more seriously than I take literally anything else, and therefore own full responsibility for any words I speak that don’t convey this truth clearly.
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. You know how in some households you curse and have to put money in a jar? Well in mine, if you mess up your pro-choice messaging you have to give a sizable donation to abortion funds (https://abortionfunds.org/need-abortion) in New York, Texas and Ohio.
I look forward to fighting with you all for the next four years and beyond.
Dunham included a photo of the word “choice” with this apology.
Do you think the apology is sufficient?
Do you understand where Dunham was coming from?
Are you on her side… or were you never on her side?
Dunham is both beloved and hated for so often speaking her mind, but no matter where you stand on the star, we can probably all agree that she ought to sometimes think a little more about her discretion and word choice.