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Cape Town – Lena Dunham has apologised for making a “distasteful joke” about abortion.
The Girls actress landed in hot water after making a controversial comment about abortion on last week’s episode of her podcast, Women of the Hour.
The theme of the episode was women’s reproductive rights. In light of the theme Lena shared a short story about being approached at a Planned Parenthood in Texas to take part in a project where women discuss abortion.
Her initial reaction was to make sure the woman who asked her to partake knew she had never had an abortion. Lena said, “I sort of jumped. ‘I haven't had an abortion,’ I told her. I wanted to make it really clear to her that as much as I was going out and fighting for other women's options, I myself had never had an abortion.
“And I realized then that even I, the woman who cares as much as anybody about a woman's right to choose, felt it was important that people know that I was unblemished in this department.”
She then goes on to say that so many people what are close to her including her mother and friend have had an abortion and how she feels “so proud of them for their bravery, for their self-knowledge.”
She then said that because on this she wishes she had an abortion. She said, “Now I can say I still haven't had an abortion, but I wish I had.”
Listen to the podcast here:
(Forward to 13:37 minutes to listen to her comments)
Her comments have since upset people listening, which has now prompted her to apologise in a post on Instagram.
Alongside a picture with the word ‘Choice’, Lena wrote: “My latest podcast episode was meant to tell a multifaceted story about reproductive choice in America...
"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.”
Read the rest of Lena’s apology here:
