Lena Dunham calls comment about wishing she'd had an abortion a 'distasteful joke' made in character

Lena Dunham made a controversial comment about abortion
(Image credit: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for Glamour)

On Tuesday, actress Lena Dunham made some ill-chosen comments about abortion in a new episode of her Women of the Hour podcast, earning the rare distinction of angering people on both sides of the abortion debate. After talking about a visit to a Planned Parenthood clinic in Texas where she'd checked her own privilege ("Even I, the woman who cares as much as anybody about a woman's right to choose, felt it was important that people know I was unblemished in this department"), Dunham said: "Now I can say that I still haven't had an abortion, but I wish I had."

Late Tuesday, Dunham issued a mea culpa of sorts via Instagram. "I truly hope a distasteful joke on my part won't diminish the amazing work of all the women who participated," she wrote. "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." You can read the rest of her comment below. Peter Weber

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.