Lawyers representing the writer for the hit television show Girls are retracting a claim Thursday that an actress accusing him of raping her in 2012 demanded money.
The writer, Murray Miller, has been accused of sexual assault by Aurora Perrineau, 23.
Murray’s lawyers, Donald Walerstein and Matthew Walerstein, released a statement to Variety disavowing an earlier claim that Perrineau was seeking damages.
‘In a previous statement to the media, we stated that Ms. Perrineau sought substantial monetary damages from our client Murray Miller,’ the statement read.
‘Neither Ms. Perrineau nor her attorney have ever made a demand for money. Our previous above statement was incorrect and the result of a good-faith misunderstanding.’
Lawyers representing the writer for the hit television show Girls are retracting a claim Thursday that an actress accusing him of raping her in 2012 demanded money. The writer, Murray Miller (left), has been accused of sexual assault by Aurora Perrineau, 23
Murray’s lawyers, Donald Walerstein and Matthew Walerstein, released a statement to Variety disavowing an earlier claim that Perrineau (above) was seeking damages
The earlier statement released by the lawyers read: ‘After being contacted several weeks ago by lawyers who – on Ms. Perrineau’s behalf – sought substantial monetary damages from him, Mr. Miller’s legal team gathered overwhelming evidence directly contradicting these false and offensive claims.
‘Only after her demands for money were rebuffed did Ms. Perrineau go to the police.’
Perrineau filed a criminal complaint against Miller with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office. The Los Angeles Police Department is currently investigating.
Perrineau, 23, said that the two had met at the Standard Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles during a night out with friends.
Perrineau, 23, said that the two had met at the Standard Hotel (above) in Downtown Los Angeles during a night out with friends
Miller (seen above on the right with Harry Cartman) has vehemently denied the allegations
She told The Wrap that she had ‘consumed some alcoholic beverages’ that evening, but added that she repeatedly told Miller that she was underage.
The 23-year-old ‘Passengers’ and ‘Equals’ star said that Murray had asked for a ride home at the end of the evening, admitting that ‘he was drunk’.
Once she and her friends arrived at his house, she ‘felt like I had to go along with everyone else,’ according to her statement.
‘At some point, I woke up in Murray’s bed naked. He was on top of me having sexual intercourse with me. At no time did I consent to any sexual contact with Murray,’ Perrineau’s statement added.
Miller has vehemently denied the allegations.
He was initially supported by Lena Dunham, the Girls star and co-creator.
Last month, Dunham released a joint statement with her co-show runner Jenni Konner expressing support for 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% of assault cases that are misreported every year,’ Dunham and Konner wrote in a joint statement.
Miller was initially supported by Lena Dunham, the Girls star and co-creator. Last month, Dunham released a joint statement with her co-show runner Jenni Konner expressing support for Miller
‘It is a true shame to add to that number, as outside of Hollywood women still struggle to be believed. We stand by Murray and this is all we’ll be saying about this issue.’
Dunham has been vocal about her own experience with sexual assault, retelling her story during gala in 2015 of how she was raped.
Dunham later apologized for supporting Miller after her initial statement generated fierce criticism on social media.
‘Every woman who comes forward deserves to be heard, fully and completely, and our relationship with the accused should not be part of the calculation anyone makes when examining her case,’ Dunham wrote.
In response to the initial statement of support for Miller, a writer for Dunham’s weekly feminist newsletter has accused the actress of ‘hipster racism’.
Zinzi Clemmons, who writes for Lenny Letter – a newsletter Dunham runs with Konner – said in a post on Twitter on Sunday she could no longer work for the outlet because of Dunham’s alleged disrespect for women of color.
Since the Miller rape allegations surfaced and the subsequent backlash over her statements of support, Dunham has been largely silent on social media.
On Wednesday, she retweeted a link to a People Magazine article about actress Margot Robbie’s new film in which she portrays former figure skater Tonya Harding.