In late September, actress Lena Dunham released her memoir “Not That Kind of Girl: A Young Woman Tells You What She’s ‘Learned.'” In addition to admitting to molesting her baby sister, she also claims to have been raped by a man named Barry while attending Oberlin College.
In the book, she describes him as the “campus Republican” and the “campus’s resident conservative.” Breitbart News dug deeper into the story and quickly found a man named Barry (they nicknamed him “Barry One”) who was a prominent Republican on campus at the time, but he does not match any other details Dunham gives about her alleged rapist – including having a mustache and hosting a radio show. Obviously this Barry has been getting a lot of unwanted – and unwarranted – attention since the book was released.
After months of silence, Breitbart reports now he is looking into legal recourse and has started a legal fund:
For more than two months, and to no avail, Barry One has asked Dunham (through her representatives) to clear his name. Obviously, she has refused.
“All proceeds will be spent by Barry on legal costs and related fees associated with defending Barry’s reputation,” the statement reads, “including, but not limited to, potentially pursuing Lena Dunham and Penguin Random House for harm caused to Barry’s reputation from the publication and sale of Ms. Dunham’s memoir.”
The statement adds that due to numerous details in Dunham’s memoir that falsely point to him as her rapist, “Barry has already spent a substantial portion of his savings on legal fees because of the actions (and inactions) of Ms. Dunham and Penguin Random House.”
The statement makes it apparent that Barry One has already racked up at least two months worth of legal fees. Through his attorney, Barry One has been in contact with Dunham’s representatives since October 6. “Despite multiple requests,” the statement says, “Lena Dunham has not issued any sort of statement clearing Barry’s name and clarifying the confusion that is happening.”
Any additional money raised for the fund will go to non-profits for rape and sexual assault victims.
What do you think – does “Barry” have a case? Tell us your thoughts in the comments section below.
UPDATE 12/9/14: Random House has issued a statement clearing Barry’s name and offering to pay for his legal fees:
“As indicated on the copyright page of ‘Not That Kind of Girl’ by Lena Dunham, some names and identifying details in the book have been changed. The name ‘Barry’ referenced in the book is a pseudonym,” the publisher told TheWrap exclusively. “Random House, on our own behalf and on behalf of our author, regrets the confusion that has led attorney Aaron Minc to post on GoFundMe on behalf of his client, whose first name is Barry.”
“We are offering to pay the fees Mr. Minc has billed his client to date,” the company continued. “Our offer will allow Mr. Minc and his client to donate all of the crowd-funding raised to not-for-profit organizations assisting survivors of rape and sexual assault.”
