Lena Dunham has been steadily promoting her latest tome, Not That Kind of Girl, over the past few weeks. In the book, she recounts a time she was raped in college. But it seems that even with this extremely personal revelation, folks simply cannot leave well enough alone. Now, rumors are circulating that Lena was also sexually abused as a child and curious reporters are allegedly keen to get to the bottom of these claims.
Last night, Lena was on hand to host the Lowline Anti-Gala and according to WWD, only made an appearance for part of the night. According to its sources, the Girls‘ creator was avoiding the press, so that no one would probe into the matter. The article, though perhaps better suited for Page Six or the Daily Mail, would have been perfectly fine were it not for the headline: “Another Lena Dunham Brouhaha.” Um, excuse us, what??
The dictionary defines “brouhaha” as “excited public interest, discussion or the like, as the clamor attending some sensational event; hullabaloo.” While news of these rumors did excite “public interest,” the word brouhaha in reference to a possible victim of sexual abuse is probably not the appropriate terminology. Brouhaha seems, in this case, like a trivializing statement and indeed, there is nothing trivial about being sexually abused as a child. These are very serious claims and, if true, probably bring up a lot of bad memories for Lena. This isn’t a case of the star taking her top off in public or tweeting something that pissed off the Internet. Kim Kardashian and Kanye West at Balmain — that was a brouhaha. Lindsay Lohan forgetting her lines onstage during a theater production? Brouhaha.
Whether it was late in the day or not, it just seems a little insensitive to assign such nomenclature to these allegations. With headlines like this, it’s no wonder Lena didn’t want to speak to the press last night.
[via WWD]
