Lena Dunham Slammed After Defending ‘Girls’ Writer Accused of Sexual Assault

Lena Dunham is under fire after she defended a writer/producer of her HBO series Girls who was accused of raping an actress.

Murray Miller, who also worked on American Dad! and King of the Hill, is accused of sexually assaulting actress Aurora Perrineau. Perrineau claims that one day in 2012 after she and Miller on set for the film Passengers, she woke up with Miller “having sexual intercourse” on top of her without consent at his home.

Perrineau, who was 17 at the time of the incident, filed a police report with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and has taken a polygraph test, according to The Wrap.

Miller has maintained his innocence, and Dunham seems to believe him. She and co-showrunner of Girls Jenni Konner issued a joint statement condemning Perrineau.

They believe the actress is making a false rape accusation, despite their support of other victims that have came out against other Hollywood figures.

“During the windfall of deeply necessary accusations over the last few months in Hollywood, we have been thrilled to see so many women’s voices heard and dark experiences in this industry justified,” the pair said. “It’s a hugely important time of change and, like every feminist in Hollywood and beyond, we celebrate. But during every time of change there are also incidences of the culture, in its enthusiasm and zeal, taking down the wrong targets. We believe, having worked closely with him for more than half a decade, that this is the case with Murray Miller.”

They continued, “While our first instinct is to listen to every woman’s story, our insider knowledge of Murray’s situation makes us confident that sadly this accusation is one of the 3 percent of assault cases that are misreported every year. It is a true shame to add to that number, as outside of Hollywood women still struggle to be believed. We stand by Murray and this is all we’ll be saying about this issue.”

Many online saw this statement as remarkably hypocritical of Dunham. She has been a vocal advocate for the outing of sexual predators in Hollywood and has previously tweeted that women do not lie about rape.

Onlookers saw this as an example of individuals condemning behavior until it happens to someone they know, and they took to Twitter to slam Dunham’s remarks.

Photo Credit: HBO / Mark Schafer