Murray Miller is accused of raping actress Aurora Perrineau in 2012 when she was 17- a claim he has denied.
When the allegations were made public on Friday, Dunham tweeted in support of Miller on behalf of her and Girls’ executive producer Jenni Konners. This is what she said:
"We believe, having worked closely with [Miller] for more than half a decade, that this is the case with Murray Miller. 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."
She was roundly criticised with many retweeting this message she posted back in August:
Things women do lie about: what they ate for lunch. Things women don't lie about: rape.
— ðŸ'Ž Lena Dunham ðŸ'Ž (@lenadunham) August 4, 2017
Dunham has since apologised for her support of Miller. She issued this statement via Twitter on Saturday:
"As feminists, we live and die by our politics, and believing women is the first choice we make every single day when we wake up.
"Therefore I never thought I would issue a statement publically (sic) supporting someone accused of sexual assault, but I naively believed it was important to share my perspective on my friend's situation as it has transpired behind the scenes over the last few months.
"I now understand that it was absolutely the wrong time to come forward with such a statement and I am so sorry. We have been given the gift of powerful voices and by speaking out we were putting our thumb on the scale and it was wrong. We regret this decision with every fiber of our being."
Through a statement from his lawyer, Murray Miller said he “vehemently denies Ms Perrineau's outrageous claims” and that he “looks forward to sharing all evidence and information with any and all authorities seeking the truth in this matter."