Author and actress Lena Dunham threatened Saturday to sue the right-wing news website Truth Revolt if it didn’t take down a “false and defamatory” article accusing her of sexually abusing her sister, according to the news outlet.
Truth Revolt’s editor-in-chief, Ben Shapiro, wrote Monday that the news outlet received a “cease and desist” letter from the actress Saturday.
That’s the same day Dunham went on a self-described Twitter “rage spiral” over blog posts on conservative websites that interpreted parts of her essay collection, “Not That Kind of Girl,” as admissions that she sexually abuse her younger sister Grace.
The “cease and desist” letter ordered Truth Revolt to remove its article as well as print a suggested note or else face legal action, according to Shapiro. Here’s the text of the suggested note:
We recently published a story stating that Ms. Dunham engaged in sexual conduct with her sister. The story was false, and we deeply regret having printed it. We apologize to Ms. Dunham, her sister, and their parents, for this false story.
Truth Revolt is refusing to do either, however.
“We refuse. We refuse to withdraw our story or apologize for running it, because quoting a woman’s book does not constitute a “false” story, even if she is a prominent actress and left-wing activist,” Shapiro wrote. “Lena Dunham may not like our interpretation of her book, but unfortunately for her and her attorneys, she wrote that book – and the First Amendment covers a good deal of material she may not like.”
