Actress Lena Dunham has apologised for her “distasteful” abortion joke, which she made during the latest episode of her “Women of the Hour” podcast.
In the episode, Dunham had recalled an incident at a Planned Parenthood NGO meeting in Texas when she was asked to share a story about her own abortion. She said that she had never gone through the procedure, before adding: “But I wish I had.”
Her remarks prompted a wave of criticism online.
Dunham later took to Instagram to apologise for the joke, reports mirror.co.uk.
“My latest podcast episode was meant to tell a multifaceted story about reproductive choice in America, to explain the many reasons women do or don’t choose to have children and what bodily autonomy really means,” she wrote.
“I’m so proud of the medley of voices in the episode. 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,” she added.
Dunham further added: “That’s my fault. I would never, ever intentionally trivialise the emotional and physical challenges of terminating a pregnancy. My only goal is to increase awareness and decrease stigma.”
