Lena Dunham has never been worried about rocking the boat.
From challenging perceptions of female body image, to shutting down misogynists, Lena Dunham is usually our hero.
But she also had a knack for putting her foot in it in a massive way, and saying the wrong thing at the wrong time.
In the latest episode of her podcast The Women of the Hour, which focuses on reproductive rights, the pro-choice actress discussed the stigma surrounding abortion.
While this is an issue that can provoke strong opinions in many, Lena managed to provoke some of her own after saying she “wished” she’d had an abortion.
The 30-year-old was addressing the fact that she carried her own stigma about abortions, despite having no problem with women who have them.
“Now I can say that I still haven’t had an abortion, but I wish I had,” was the comment that landed her in hot water.
And while in the context of what Dunham was saying – that abortions are a woman’s right to choose and she admires the bravery of women who have them – understandably many people were upset by the comment.
“As someone who has had an abortion, pls stop Lena Dunham. PLEASE STOP,” wrote Anna Akana.
Linz DeFranco wrote: “Lena Dunham, Saying that you haven’t had an abortion but you wish you had so you can somehow “Empathize?” Way to make pro-choicers look bad.”
Sam Escobar cut right to it, telling the actress on Twitter: “Somebody let Lena Dunham know that there are other ways to “fight stigma” than to speak about YOURSELF being directly affected by an issue.”
Lena has since apologised for the comment, saying it was not her intention to “trivialise” abortion.
Her full apology can be seen in the Instagram post above.
You can listen to the podcast here.
