Lena Dunham Odell Beckham Jr. Lenny Letter Amy Schumer

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Update: Lena Dunham has posted an apology for her comments about Odell Beckham Jr. to Instagram. “I owe Odell Beckham Jr an apology," Dunham writes. "Despite my moments of bravado, I struggle at industry events (and in life) with the sense that I don't rep a certain standard of beauty and so when I show up to the Met Ball surrounded by models and swan-like actresses, it's hard not to feel like a sack of flaming garbage. This felt especially intense with a handsome athlete as my dinner companion and a bunch of women I was sure he'd rather be seated with. But I went ahead and projected these insecurities and made totally narcissistic assumptions about what he was thinking, then presented those assumptions as facts. I feel terrible about it. Because after listening to lots of valid criticism, I see how unfair it is to ascribe misogynistic thoughts to someone I don't know AT ALL. Like, we have never met, I have no idea the kind of day he's having or what his truth is. But most importantly, I would never intentionally contribute to a long and often violent history of the over-sexualization of Black male bodies — as well as false accusations by white women towards Black men. I'm so sorry, particularly to OBJ, who has every right to be on his cell phone. The fact is I don't know about his state of mind (I don't know a lot of things) and I shouldn't have acted like I did. Much love and thanks, Lena”

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I owe Odell Beckham Jr an apology. Despite my moments of bravado, I struggle at industry events (and in life) with the sense that I don't rep a certain standard of beauty and so when I show up to the Met Ball surrounded by models and swan-like actresses it's hard not to feel like a sack of flaming garbage. This felt especially intense with a handsome athlete as my dinner companion and a bunch of women I was sure he'd rather be seated with. But I went ahead and projected these insecurities and made totally narcissistic assumptions about what he was thinking, then presented those assumptions as facts. I feel terrible about it. Because after listening to lots of valid criticism, I see how unfair it is to ascribe misogynistic thoughts to someone I don't know AT ALL. Like, we have never met, I have no idea the kind of day he's having or what his truth is. But most importantly, I would never intentionally contribute to a long and often violent history of the over-sexualization of black male bodies- as well as false accusations by white women towards black men. I'm so sorry, particularly to OBJ, who has every right to be on his cell phone. The fact is I don't know about his state of mind (I don't know a lot of things) and I shouldn't have acted like I did. Much love and thanks, Lena

A photo posted by Lena Dunham (@lenadunham) on Sep 3, 2016 at 11:12am PDT

This story was originally posted on September 3, 2016 at 1:45 p.m.

In an interview with Amy Schumer published in her newsletter Lenny Letter, Lena Dunham described an awkward encounter with football player Odell Beckham Jr. She was seated next to him at the Met Gala and he didn't look at her because of her clothing and body type, Dunham claimed. "It was like he looked at me and he determined I was not the shape of a woman by his standards. He was like, 'That’s a marshmallow. That’s a child. That’s a dog.' It wasn’t mean — he just seemed confused," she said. "The vibe was very much like, 'Do I want to fuck it? Is it wearing a...yep, it’s wearing a tuxedo. I’m going to go back to my cell phone.' It was like we were forced to be together and he literally was scrolling Instagram rather than have to look at a woman in a bow tie," Dunham continued. People felt that this was a harsh accusation against Beckham, while others considered her expecting his attention an example of white entitlement.

Lena Dunham mad at somebody she's interested in just for ignoring her? She think she a man lmaooo
— zaytoven ibrahimović (@paulycristo) September 3, 2016

lena dunham's Professor X like ability to read minds is just another example of white privilege
— Desus Nice (@desusnice) September 2, 2016

lena dunham is the white girl taking your fitted cap off & putting it on her head at a party
— alex english (@alex3nglish) September 3, 2016

Rocking the Lena Dunham throwback today pic.twitter.com/kbgpC1NeD0
— VSB (@VerySmartBros) September 3, 2016

its ironic Lena Dunham said there aren't black people on her show cuz she can't write them "truthfully" but can now read our minds#racist
— Che Sandernista (@davyjoneslockuh) September 3, 2016

Dunham clarified in a series of tweets that she didn't actually think Beckham was being standoffish — she was just taking a jab at herself. She said Beckham was "talented, stylish, seems super-awesome and wasn't into chatting with me at a fancy party." "My story about him was clearly (to me) about my own insecurities as an average-bodied woman at a table of supermodels and athletes," she wrote. "It's not an assumption about who he is or an expectation of sexual attention. It's my sense of humor, which has kept me alive for 30 years."

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.@OBJ_3 is talented, stylish, seems super awesome and wasn't into chatting with me at a fancy party.
— Lena Dunham (@lenadunham) September 2, 2016

My story about him was clearly (to me) about my own insecurities as an average-bodied woman at a table of supermodels & athletes.
— Lena Dunham (@lenadunham) September 2, 2016

It's not an assumption about who he is or an expectation of sexual attention. It's my sense of humor, which has kept me alive for 30 years.
— Lena Dunham (@lenadunham) September 2, 2016

Some were also upset about Schumer's statements in the interview. When asked about victim-blaming comments about sexual assault made by Inside Amy Schumer writer Kurt Metzger, she suggested they were blown out of proportion. Dunham and Schumer both have a history of being questioned as feminists — particularly as intersectional feminists. For many, the interview embodied several problems with heralding these actresses as feminist icons.