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Why People Are Mad At Lena Dunham’s Latest Interview

Suzannah Weiss
Last Updated 4 September 2016, 7:00
Broadimage/REX/Shutterstock.
Update: Lena Dunham has posted an apology for her comments about American Football star 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

This story was originally posted on the 3rd of September, 2016 at 6:45 p.m.
In an interview with Amy Schumer published in her newsletter Lenny Letter, Lena Dunham described an awkward encounter with American 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.
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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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.
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