Actress Lena Dunham has apologised for ‘trivialising’ abortion, during a recent podcast.
Dunham, who is best known for writing and starring in the US series Girls, was heavily criticised for saying she has never had an abortion, but wishes she had.
The comments were slammed as “inflammatory and unhelpful” by one pro-life charity and caused a backlash on social media.
Trivialising abortion
During her most recent podcast, Dunham talked of various people she knew who had an abortion saying: “I feel so proud of them for their bravery, for their self-knowledge”.
She went on to tell listeners “I still haven’t had an abortion, but I wish I had”.
John Gerardi, Executive Director of Life of Central California, responded saying, “we’re still talking about another living human being”.
“It seems Lena Dunham wants to treat abortions like getting your appendix removed”.
Social media backlash
People on social media also reacted angrily:
Twitter user @kisslow said abortion is an “awful experience one shouldn’t wish for”.
And @jazmyneolivia said: “Your comments are really sickening.”
Apology
In an Instagram post, Dunham apologised for what she called a “distasteful joke”, saying: she would “never, ever intentionally trivialize the emotional and physical challenges” of abortion.
She went on to say that her goal is to “decrease stigma” around abortion.
The actress also revealed that she has given money to an abortion group since the row took place.
She wrote: “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”.
‘Reproductive rights’
Dunham publicly backed Hillary Clinton in the US election, citing her commitment to ‘reproductive rights’ as one reason she would be getting her vote.
She won two Golden Globes for her series Girls, which is described as a “comic look at the assorted humiliations and rare triumphs of a group of girls in their mid-20s”.