What did Lena Dunham say about her sister? The abuse scandal and more that forced Girls star out of the spotlight

Lena Dunham is back to show-running and directing with her recent Netflix series, Too Much. Dunham was previously associated with the hit HBO series, Girls, which she executive produced, directed and starred in. After Girls ended its run in 2017, Dunham largely took a break from the limelight, working on projects behind the scenes.

During the production of Girls, Dunham became embroiled in a scandal which stemmed from certain passages of her memoir, Not That Kind of Girl, which was released in 2014.

Isolating a few excerpts from her book, a selected press coverage claimed that Dunham wrote about mol*sting her younger sister. As per Vox, a website named Truth Revolt alleged that Dunham s*xually abused her sister, Grace, when during her childhood, she examined her one-year-old sister’s v**ina.

According to Vox, in an excerpt from the memoir, Dunham wrote,

“Grace was sitting up, babbling and smiling, and I leaned down between her legs and carefully spread open her vagina. She didn’t resist and when I saw what was inside I shrieked…My mother didn’t bother asking why I had opened Grace’s vagina. This was within the spectrum of things I did. She just got on her knees and looked for herself. It quickly became apparent that Grace had stuffed six or seven pebbles in there.”

The passage written by Dunham prompted widespread debate about what constitutes child s*x abuse at the time. In addition, The Guardian noted that another passage which sparked controversy was a part in the book in which Dunham describes that she attempted to bribe her sister with sweet treats and money to “kiss her on the lips for five seconds.”

As per the publication, Dunham also wrote,

“Basically, anything a sexual predator might do to woo a small suburban girl, I was trying.”

The aftermath of the child s*x abuse allegations against Lena Dunham, explored

In 2014, a large part of the media picked up on Truth Revolt’s coverage of Lena Dunham’s memoir, and echoed the allegations that Dunham mol*sted her sister as a child. The allegations prompted testimonials from psychologists who defended Dunham.

As per Slate, a developmental psychologist from Cornell University, Ritch Savin-Williams said at the time,

“This is clearly not a case of abuse. Children have been doing this stuff forever and ever and ever and ever, and they will do it forever and ever and ever.”

The media uproar caused by Dunham’s book prompted a psychology professor, John V. Caffaro, to write a column in the Washington Post to distinguish between s*xual curiosity in children, and child s*x abuse. He wrote,

“To be clear, s*xual curiosity in children is normal…Even siblings of the same gender become curious about variations in shapes and sizes of their s*x organs.”

As per Vox, Lena Dunham herself lashed out at claims that she s*xually predated on her sister, and took to X (then Twitter) to write,

“Usually this is stuff I can ignore but don't demean sufferers, don't twist my words, back the f**k up bros.”

When you spend time living and working in LA, there really is an inexplicable magic you hear so much about. Thank you this time, LA, for letting me come and talk about my childhood dream #CatherineCalledBirdyMovie which is streaming now on Amazon @primevideo. pic.twitter.com/AaY3sghuEV

— Lena Dunham (@lenadunham) October 22, 2022

The Guardian noted that even her sister, Grace, wrote in defense of her sister,

“As a queer person: i'm committed to people narrating their own experiences, determining for themselves what has and has not been harmful”

Dunham also wrote a more comprehensive reaction to the controversy, and even apologized in Time. She wrote,

“I am dismayed over the recent interpretation of events described in my book Not That Kind of Girl. First and foremost, I want to be very clear that I do not condone any kind of abuse under any circumstances. Childhood s*xual abuse is a life-shattering event for so many, and I have been vocal about the rights of survivors. If the situations described in my book have been painful or triggering for people to read, I am sorry, as that was never my intention. I am also aware that the comic use of the term ‘sexual predator’ was insensitive, and I’m sorry for that as well. As for my sibling, Grace, she is my best friend, and anything I have written about her has been published with her approval.”

Lena Dunham recently spoke about taking a break after Girls ended

During a conversation with The Times in June 2025, Lena Dunham reminisced about surviving media controversies during the 2010s. She said,

“I didn’t really understand how to distinguish between what was and wasn’t necessary for the public…I always joke that I need a T-shirt that says, ‘I survived New York media in 2012 and all I got was this lousy T-shirt’. And all I got was this lousy PTSD.”

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Lena Dunham (@lenadunham)

Continuing, Dunham also explained,

“I felt like all the maturing and changing that had been kept at bay by the experience of being in that cocoon of the show was suddenly happening at a speed that was overwhelming. It was a painful metamorphosis. I definitely took an intentional break [from public life].”

Dunham also shared that she attended rehab after Girls ended to deal with her addiction to prescription anxiety medication.