Lena Dunham apologizes for 'distasteful joke' about abortion

Actress Lena Dunham took to Instagram late Tuesday to apologize for saying she wishes that she had undergone an abortion procedure in order to combat the “stigma” around the issue.

“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,” Dunham wrote. “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.”

Dunham claimed that her comments 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,” she wrote. “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.”

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.

A photo posted by Lena Dunham (@lenadunham) on Dec 20, 2016 at 6:39pm PST

Dunham continued:

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.

Dunham said she intends to make “a sizable donation to abortion funds” to atone for her mistake in “pro-choice messaging.”

“I look forward to fighting with you all for the next four years and beyond,” she added.

TheBlaze previously reported that on the most recent episode of her podcast “Women of the Hour,” Dunham said that she wishes she had undergone an abortion in order to combat “stigma around this issue.”

Dunham said that during a visit to a Planned Parenthood clinic, she was asked to participate in a project in which women share their experiences with abortion. Dunham replied that she’d never had one, and later felt that her answer contributed to the alleged stigma.

“Now I can say that I still haven’t had an abortion, but I wish I had,” she said.

Dunham’s remarks were first highlighted by Newsbusters.

A Twitter controversy erupted after Dunham’s remarks gained attention.