Girls creator Lena Dunham has always been a polarizing celebrity, you either love her or hate her. It seems she always seems to be apologizing for things she says and tweets. The Daily Beast just published a scathing indictment of her after her latest tweet where she envisions herself as a queer icon,
When I go, I want my casket to be driven through the NYC pride parade with a plaque that reads “she wasn’t for everyone, but she *was* for us”- who can arrange?
— Lena Dunham (@lenadunham) October 2, 2022
Related: HBO Max’s ‘Genera+ion’ is a show for queer teens from a queer teen
Cringeworthy, yep. Offensive? Probably. Is she a queer icon to me? No. I hated Girls. I lived in Williamsburg during the time the show aired. The characters all were whiny and unlikable to me. However, the show was a massive critical and commercial hit. Did it have its detractors, of course. Many criticizing the show for its lack of diversity. Dunham said at the time,
“I take that criticism very seriously…this show isn’t supposed to feel exclusionary. It’s supposed to feel honest, and it’s supposed to feel true to many aspects of my experience. But for me to ignore the criticism and not to take it in would really go against my beliefs and my education in so many things.”
The Daily Beast held nothing back as they savaged her rehashing every one of her (yes there are many) problematic statements. These included the time in 2016 when she was upset Odell Beckham Jr. did not hit on her at the Met Gala. In 2017 actress Aurora Perrineau accused Girls writer Murray Miller of raping her when she was 17. Dunham issued a statement accusing Perrineau of lying. Dunham, herself a survivor of sexual abuse and a leading voice in the Me Too movement, was now not believing another women’s story of assault. She did apologize for that statement. To her credit, Dunham owns up to her many, many, many “mistakes,” which is more than you can say for many others. But will she ever learn from past mistakes?
As for queer icon tweet, the problematic part is yet again a rich, entitled white woman making Pride about themselves. The Daily Beast wrote,
“At a time when LGBT people, especially Black and other queer folks who have been doubly marginalized, likely feel like Pride is a celebration of just surviving this neo-facsist rise, maybe sit this one out, Lena.”
The tweet was liked over 6k times. Considering her followers number over five million that’s a pretty piss poor response. Plus it was retweeted over 4k times! I’m bad at math but that can’t be good for Dunham. Let’s peruse a sampling of the responses:
— Alex (@synagogves) October 2, 2022
I want pizza to be low calorie and heart healthy but that ain’t happenin either
— BoBOO! Tobian (@BobooTobian) October 2, 2022
Pride is for us, not gratifying the egos of straight people who see us as accessories
— Jorts Appreciator (@W0rk_N_Class) October 2, 2022
“She died as she lived: in a ploy for attention that was as puzzling as it was desperate”
— Star Plátano (@Qban_Linx) October 2, 2022
— Andy (@FrancisTheSailr) October 2, 2022
— Andy (@FrancisTheSailr) October 2, 2022
NYC pride arranger here. We can squeeze you in on the cop float
— gale na (@poisonjr) October 2, 2022
So Instincters, is Dunham a gay icon to you? Do you love or hate her? Sound off in the comments below.
(**this post is solely the opinion of this contributing writer and may not reflect the opinion of other writers, staff, or owners of Instinct Magazine.)
Sources: The Daily Beast
