Lena Dunham Upsets 'Saturday Night Live' Viewers With Planned Parenthood 'Propaganda'
Actress Lena Dunham is being criticized for touting Planned Parenthood "propaganda" when she hosted NBC's "Saturday Night Live" this past Saturday.
The 27-year-old, who created the hit HBO show "Girls," referred to Planned Parenthood as a place where women can go for "low cost medical advice and care" in the skit, titled "Jewelry Party," starring Dunham and "SNL" cast members Cecily Strong and Mike O'Brien.
In the skit, Strong plays Marisol, the confused Venezuelan girlfriend of Bruce, a pro-life activist played by O'Brien. Strong tells Dunham, who plays her friend in the skit, that she is so proud of her boyfriend for his pro-life work, saying, "He shut down two Planned Parenthoods."
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Dunham then asks O'Brien, "You shut down two Planned Parenthoods?" to which O'Brien replies, "My group did, yes."
"Don't be shy … That's what he told me … he was jumping on the bed with his little arms and yelling, 'I shut down a bad place, I shut down a bad place,'" Strong continues. Dunham, evidently upset by this news, then seeks to tell Strong what Planned Parenthood does.
"[Planned Parenthood is] a place where women can go for low co - It is - I am so upset right now. It's a place where women can go for low-cost medical advice and care," Dunham says, to which Strong replies: "What! To help women? That is a good place!" In the end, Strong's character ends her relationship with O'Brien's pro-life character.
The "SNL" skit has drawn ire on social media by those who argue the sketch comedy show is focusing too much time on politics instead of humor. While Planned Parenthood does offer medical services, such as prenatal care services at low cost, the federally funded organization is also the largest abortion provider in the U.S. A report released in December 2013 found the Planned Parenthood Federation of America performed 327,166 abortions during the 2012-2013 fiscal year.
Planned Parenthood took to Twitter on Monday to thank Dunham for referencing its organization on the sketch comedy show, tweeting: "We thought we couldn't love [Lena Dunham] any more. Then she hilariously took down an anti-women activist on [SNL]."
Other viewers were less pleased with the skit, saying it promoted Planned Parenthood without mentioning their pro-abortion record. "#SNL is not telling the whole truth about Planned Parenthood. They facilitate murder. Tell the truth," tweeted Ashley Ciandella, while another viewer wrote: "Lena Dunham forgot to say Planned Parenthood is where you can get a quick cheap abortion."
"Way to go, SNL, by pushing Planned Parenthood on us. Stick to the jokes, leave the politics," tweeted another viewer, while still another wrote: "This is why I don't watch SNL. Not even kinda funny. Lena Dunham = Planned Parenthood propaganda. Horrifying painful."
Along with its Planned Parenthood-themed skit, the March 8 airing of "SNL" also included a skit spoofing the biblical story of Adam and Eve, playing off of the setting found on the HBO show "Girls" and making Dunham play the role of Eve and "SNL" cast member Taran Killam play the role of Adam.
This is not the first time Dunham has been linked to the health care provider. In April 2013, Planned Parenthood awarded the young actress with a "media excellence" award for her work creating "Girls," saying in a press release at the time that her show is a "realistic and honest portrayal of the complex issues facing young women today."
