--- description: Lena Dunham has opened up about why she wrote in her recent memoir about being sexually assaulted while in college title: Lena Dunham Speaks Up About Speaking Out on Sexual Assault image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc5aa81831f03aae3/6987640b35ba6f300fc04cc1/lena-dunham.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Living](/tag/time-section-living/) ## Living Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Lena Dunham Defends Writing on a Past Sexual Assault  by [Jack Linshi](/author/jack-linshi/)  ## Jack Linshi Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 10, 2014 4:16 AM CUT  Lena Dunham Lena DunhamJeff Kravitz—FilmMagic/Getty Images  by [Jack Linshi](/author/jack-linshi/)  ## Jack Linshi Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 10, 2014 4:16 AM CUT Lena Dunham has [opened up](http://www.buzzfeed.com/lenadunham/lena-dunham-why-i-chose-to-speak-out "undefined") about why she wrote in her recent memoir about being sexually assaulted while in college. In a lengthy statement published Tuesday by BuzzFeed, Dunham hits back at [accusations](http://time.com/3625223/lena-dunham-publisher-rape/ "undefined") that she described the man she claims assaulted her in a way that could be matched a male student who also attended Oberlin College. The student has denied he raped Dunham; her publisher plans to alter _Not That Kind of Girl_ to specify that “Barry” is a pseudonym. In her statement, the _Girls_ writer and actress explains she was inspired by other sexual-assault survivors to share her story, while also addressing the recent accusations: --- > “” --- Dunham, who wrote that she was drunk and high during her assault, also addressed her frustration when she receives questions that relate her intoxication to the incident: --- > “” --- Dunham’s decision to share her story was [praised](http://time.com/3445018/lena-dunham-not-that-kind-of-girl-rape-essay/ "undefined") when it was released in September, in the midst of an ongoing national dialogue on campus sexual assault. Her writing had previously met controversy when a conservative group accused her of [sexually abusing her younger sister](http://time.com/3557597/lena-dunham-lawsuit-sex-abuse/ "undefined"). \[[_BuzzFeed_](http://www.buzzfeed.com/lenadunham/lena-dunham-why-i-chose-to-speak-out "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3626833/lena-dunham-discussion-sexual-assault/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3626833/lena-dunham-discussion-sexual-assault/"},"headline":"Lena Dunham Defends Writing on a Past Sexual Assault","datePublished":"2014-12-10T04:16:51.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:56:26.570Z","description":"Dunham's description of her attacker apparently matched a real person, who is threatening a lawsuit","url":"https://time.com/3626833/lena-dunham-discussion-sexual-assault/","keywords":["Living","celebrities","Books"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc5aa81831f03aae3/6987640b35ba6f300fc04cc1/lena-dunham.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jack Linshi","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/jack-linshi/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc5aa81831f03aae3/6987640b35ba6f300fc04cc1/lena-dunham.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Lena Dunham","caption":"Lena Dunham","creditText":"Jeff Kravitz—FilmMagic/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-living/","name":"Living"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3626833/lena-dunham-discussion-sexual-assault/","name":"Lena Dunham Defends Writing on a Past Sexual Assault"}}]}] ```