Lena Dunham Responds to Anger Over Comedian's N-Word Tweet
Lena Dunham didn't speak to the press at the Writers Guild Awards last Sunday, nor did she give a long speech when she accepted the trophy for best new series. And yet, she still finds herself embroiled in a controversy that launched during the show, even though it was none of her doing.
Comedian and presenter Lisa Lampanelli, who is famously known for her foul mouth, tweeted a photo of herself and Dunham at the awards, with the caption "Me with my n---a @LenaDunham of @HBOGirls - I love this beyotch!" Predictably, the tweet fired up critics, angry at Lampanelli -- a white woman -- for using the word.
One writer, Shayla Pierce, wrote several stories for various online publications expressing her outrage, and then took to Twitter to call out Dunham for not condemning Lampanelli.
".@LenaDunham has showed her true colors on this whole n-word debacle. Her silence speaks volumes," she tweeted. "I don't think I'll be watching @girlsHBO anymore. And I say that with honest sadness... Lena advertises herself as a progressive but she's chosen not to address the situation. She seems phony to me now."
Dunham responded on Twitter, writing that she would never use the n-word and that Lampanelli's tweet made her "supremely uncomfortable," but stayed silent because "twitter debates breed more twitter debates."
She added that "140 characters will never be enough for the kind of dialogue that will actually help us address issues of race and class," and then commended Pierce for a "beautifully written piece," apologizing for any discomfort she may have felt.
Pierce happily accepted her response, writing, "Thank you so much. And I do <3 you and your work. Thanks for addressing this *hugsies* @lenadunham."
For her part, Lampanelli has defended her use of the word, saying "The N-word ending in 'er' is far different context from the word ending in 'a.' Ask any person who knows the urban dictionary, it means 'friend."
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".@LenaDunham has showed her true colors on this whole n-word debacle. Her silence speaks volumes," she tweeted. "I don't think I'll be watching @girlsHBO anymore. And I say that with honest sadness... Lena advertises herself as a progressive but she's chosen not to address the situation. She seems phony to me now."
Pierce happily accepted her response, writing, "Thank you so much. And I do <3 you and your work. Thanks for addressing this *hugsies* @lenadunham."
idk who Shayla is but she sounds like an asshole. Her melodramatic tweet of "I didn't get what I wanted from you therefore I'm boycotting you" to "omg a celeb responded to me I still wuv you *hugsies*" makes me want to vomit.
Oh you gave me attention! Lena where can I send you the friendship bracelet I made for you?
Sadly, she's not really relevant, so most could give zero fucks about her patently racist ass.
"The N-word ending in 'er' is far different context from the word ending in 'a.' Ask any person who knows the urban dictionary, it means 'friend
so she sleeps with a couple of black men and she thinks she's the authority on what that word means? lol i cannot.
I ask because so many commenters here love Sex and the City, and that had the same problem of never including many women of colour in the story. Same with Friends. Both are set in a racially diverse part of New York. Or is it less about the show, and more that Lena Dunham is a shitty person?
Personally, I think people are mad because a 26 year old from a privileged background made something successful, and in order for anybody from privilege to deserve anything at so young an age (especially when all the auteurs of ONTD go unnoticed), they need to be perfect.
I'm as critical of people from privileged backgrounds as the next guy, but I think the relevant question for anything on tv is always, "is this interesting or new?" Lena Dunham has made something that is interesting. I don't need her to be a perfect enlightened human being to watch and enjoy her show.
I was fully expecting a sneering "are you kidding me?!" or dismissive "lol bye".
funny, cuz poc manage to do it all the damn time
but that's just me.
"The N-word ending in 'er' is far different context from the word ending in 'a.' Ask any person who knows the urban dictionary, it means 'friend."
not at all.
And as much as I wanted to rip Dunham, staying silent on the shit was the best thing she could have done.