Harold Perrineau releases first statement since daughter's sexual assault claim

Former Lost star Harold Perrineau, whose daughter Aurora Perrineau has accused former Girls writer Murray Miller of sexual assault, has spoken out for the first time about the rape allegations — and called out Girls creator and star Lena Dunham for her prior comments his daughter’s claims.

The actor, who also appeared in The Matrix franchise and on the HBO drama Oz, added praise for his daughter’s “strength and bravery.”

In November, Aurora claimed that when she was 17, Miller sexually assaulted her after a party in 2012. At the time, Miller’s representatives denied the allegations in a statement to TheWrap. “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. Mr. Miller looks forward to sharing all evidence and information with any and all authorities seeking the truth in this matter.”

On Thursday, however, Miller’s representatives admitted no monetary damages were initially sought by Aurora or her representatives. “In a previous statement to media, we stated that Ms. Perrineau sought substantial monetary damages from our client Murray Miller. Neither Ms. Perrineau nor her attorneys have ever made a demand for money,” Miller’s attorneys said. “Our previous above statement was incorrect and the result of a good-faith misunderstanding.”

After Aurora came forward with her allegations against Miller, Dunham and Girls showrunner Jenni Konner issued a statement voicing their support of Miller and suggested Perrineau may have “misreported” the situation.

“During the windfall of deeply necessary accusations over the last few months in Hollywood, we have been thrilled to see so many women’s voices heard and dark experiences in this industry justified. It’s a hugely important time of change and, like every feminist in Hollywood and beyond, we celebrate. But during every time of change there are also incidences of the culture, in its enthusiasm and zeal, taking down the wrong targets,” Dunham and Konner said in a statement. “We believe, having worked closely with him for more than half a decade, that this is the case with Murray 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 percent of assault cases that are misreported every year. 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 was slammed online for her statement and has since apologized. “Every woman who comes forward deserves to be heard, fully and completely, and our relationship to the accused should not be part of the calculation anyone makes when examining her case,” she wrote on social media. “Every person and every feminist should be required to hear her. Under patriarchy, ‘I believe you’ is essential. Until we are all believed, none of us will be believed. We apologize to any woman who have been disappointed.”

In his statement Friday, Harold made no mention of Dunham or Konner by name. But he did call out “all of you out there that think you can get away with your abuse” and “all of your friends” with “insider information,” a seeming reference to Dunham and Konner’s claim to have “insider knowledge of Murray’s situation.”

“I say, let’s let the police do their job,” Harold wrote. “But you should know this… YOU HAVE F—ED WITH THE WRONG FAMILY!!! WE STAND UP!!!”