Lena Dunham is known by now for living life thinking it's better to beg for forgiveness than to shut her piehole and not say dumb things. She's often saying stuff she ends up apologizing for, 24h or less depending on how much of a backlash she receives. These are seven times Miss Dunham has proven she's not one to learn from her mistakes in the past 4 years.
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01. The One With the rape and murder victim Halloween costume ideaBFFs Mindy Kailing, BJ Novak and Lena were doing the celebrity thing where they discuss shit they could easily take to texting about Halloween costumes, and Mindy suggested they go as the West Memphis Three. Lena thought it was edgy and super fun to suggest they go as serial killers Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka while she goes as Karla's sister, who was raped and killed by the two.
The original tweet:
Human beings with some basic sense of decency obviously were not here for Lena's disgusting joke and she got a lot of heat. The apology came through a series of tweets that I put together bellow:
The boundaries of comedy are complicated and I'm learning twitter isn't the place to explain or even test them. I obviously don't find rape or murder funny, rather the concept of a trio of hapless people in poor taste halloween costumes. Generally not a proponent of apologizing for one's work but that tweet wasn't my work-- it was as throwaway as most 140 character thoughts. Obviously didn't understand what a painful part of the Canadian identity the Bernardo/Homolka case was. Saw a TV movie w/ Laura Prepon. Part of the reason I was so concerned is that I've always dreamed of retiring to Canada #Canadaphile.02. The One With the Muslim VeilLena posted this picture (now deleted) on her instagram:
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Which obviously led to people calling her out, to which Lena apologized with:
Been in production and completely not reading the news. Didn't realize what a bad time it was to make a joke like that. Not a good excuse you guys, but an excuse nonetheless. I'm glad you keep me informed and I'm deleting those tweets. Will spend tonight reading my pile of old NY Times, contemplating the boundaries of humor. I try and learn something new every day. xxLena.03. The One With the sexual predator jokeIn her book
Not that kind of girl Lena describes her relationship with younger sister Grace when they were kids. She goes on to talk about how she offered her sister candy if she could kiss her on the lips for five seconds, and goes on to describe such act as 'basically anything a sexual predator might do to woo a small suburban girl'.
She also talks about how she would carefully spread open her sister's legs just 'cause she was curious.
Obviously such info was met with disgust and people started calling Lena out for being such a creep, to which she apologized with the following statement:
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.But upon all the negative press, Lena also had this to say on twitter:
Usually this is stuff I can ignore but don't demean sufferers, don't twist my words, back the fuck up bros. I told a story about being a weird 7 year old. I bet you have some too, old men, that I'd rather not hear.Well, congratulations on being as creepy as them old men, I suppose.
04. The One With the Bill Cosby-Holocaust comparisonJudd Apatow was called obsessed about the Bill Cosby case, and Lena said if being obsessed meant trying to bring justice to the women who were victims, "bring on the obsession." Then she went on about how saying this about Judd was like saying someone was obsessed with the Holocaust, and also used Chris Rock as an example of an "incredible guy who has a strong sense of social justice" but who basically said "We'll see" about the alegations.
People weren't happy with Lena's choice of words but apparently it wasn't that big of a deal so she managed to pull out a half-assed excuse on her instagram and call it a day:
Additionally I'm already aware comparing Bill Cosby to the Holocaust wasn't my best analogy. With Love from your special rape-hating Jew friend LENA.05. The One With the websites & physically abusive husbandsAnother case that proves Lena should just quit using analogies, she explained she no longer runs her twitter account after being body-shamed by certain websites (Gawker and Jezebel). To get her point across, she says reading them is "
literally like going back to a husband who beats me in the face, it doesn't make sense."
Obviously people weren't having it, and she issued yet another apology through a now deleted instagram post:
When I heard my own quote I was like ‘Jesus, Lena, no.' I wasn't making a joke about domestic violence—I was over-emphatic in my attempt to capture how damaging the Internet can be (not just to celebrities). When I first discovered the world wide web as a teenager it felt like salvation. I've met a lot of my best friends there. It's allowed for so much magic. But it also makes room for so much hate and a new kind of violence. I'm not the first to say it. I shan't be the last.06. The One With Odell Beckahm Jr.I'm sure this one is still fresh in your memories but in case it's not, what happened was that in a pretty sad display of projection, Miss Dunham wrote an essay where she assumed these were Odell's thoughts on her:
- She wasn't the shape of a woman "by his standards"
- He was confused by her looks as a whole
- He kept checking his instagram instead of looking at her
- The vibe was 'Do I want to fuck it?' - It being Lena
I personally find this one case pretty sad because the projection is strong as fuck here, and some people (including Roxane Gay) seemed to understand Lena but still called her out. Her apology through instagram was:
I owe Odell Beckham Jr an apology. Despite my moments of bravado, I struggle at industry events (and in life) with the sense that I don't rep a certain standard of beauty and so when I show up to the Met Ball surrounded by models and swan-like actresses it's hard not to feel like a sack of flaming garbage. This felt especially intense with a handsome athlete as my dinner companion and a bunch of women I was sure he'd rather be seated with. But I went ahead and projected these insecurities and made totally narcissistic assumptions about what he was thinking, then presented those assumptions as facts. I feel terrible about it. Because after listening to lots of valid criticism, I see how unfair it is to ascribe misogynistic thoughts to someone I don't know AT ALL. Like, we have never met, I have no idea the kind of day he's having or what his truth is. But most importantly, I would never intentionally contribute to a long and often violent history of the over-sexualization of black male bodies- as well as false accusations by white women towards black men. I'm so sorry, particularly to OBJ, who has every right to be on his cell phone. The fact is I don't know about his state of mind (I don't know a lot of things) and I shouldn't have acted like I did. Much love and thanks, Lena07. The One with the abortion wishThe most recent case happened this week, when during a podcast Lena thought it was appropriate (cute? quirky? charming?) to say she wishes she'd had an abortion. This was met with major backlash by pro-choicers and pro-lifers alike and Lena yet again issued an apology via instagram:
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.sources:
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9Do you apologize often, ONTD?
And what do you think Lena will be apologizing for in 2017? Place your bets!
