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via Instagram @lenadunham, Nylon MagazineIt’s not like Lena Dunham is any stranger to controversy. In fact, the 30-year-old writer/actress/director and producer of HBO’s Girls seems to court it. I’m all for celebrities speaking out, speaking their minds, being political, spouting women’s rights – I absolutely loved Meryl Streep’s Golden Globes outrage – but if you’re going to speak your mind, you really should be in your right mind.
Dunham’s wagging tongue often – more often than not – seems to get her in trouble. And not the kind of trouble she courts. Once called “the voice of her generation,” she’s never been called the voice of reason. Or anything remotely reasonable.
But then, this is a woman who seems defiantly overweight, struts her size – then does nude or semi-nude or bathing suit scenes on her TV show. She’ll wear the most outrageous clothes, hair and makeup – which somehow works on women like Lady Gaga, Rihanna – even Katy Perry. But they’re pop stars – and fashion stars – and Dunham wants to be taken seriously as an artistic and political voice, and author – of her entire generation. You can’t have it both ways, Lena!!!
Her tweets and podcast are filled with sexiness, sex talk, and feminism – which seem to contradict each other and send mixed messages – and backlash from her often diarrhea-of-the-mouth proselytizing: “Liberal hypocrite celeb,” “child molester,” “disgusting anti-woman creature” and “move to Saudi Arabia” are things that have been tweeted back at her. Meanwhile, one of her Instagram pictures has her in a come-hither sexual pose, in high hooker heels, with her thighs up and her legs spread to expose a thong. It could be right out of Playboy – if it wasn’t Lena Dunham.
This is particularly controversial in light of her comments on abortion on her podcast, “Women of the Hour.” Defending Planned Parenthood and women’s health options, she admitted she’d never had an abortion – and added, “I still haven’t had an abortion, but I wish I had.” Both anti-abortion conservatives and liberals went crazy over this one! Later, she apologized. What an absolutely idiotic thing to say – particularly in the age of Trump, and our awareness of how conservative parts of this country are.
And in further proof of conservative hate for her, a right wing website called Truth Revolt accused her of sexually abusing her little sister when they were kids. That’s a reference to an essay in her 2014 book “Not That Kind of Girl: A Young Woman Tells You What She’s Learned” (Random House) – in which Dunham admits she looked at her sister’s vagina when she was seven and her sister, one. She denounced the site, of course – and calling that “sexual abuse” is a clear exaggeration. But why is she talking about her sister’s vagina in a book, anyway? How embarrassed must her sister have been, with all this feedback and media?
Now comes yet another controversy – just as “Girls” is about to debut for its final season on Feb. 12, Dunham, along with other vocal liberal celebrities: Michael Moore, CNN’s Van Jones, Chelsea Handler, and “Hamilton” star Brandon Victor Dixon (who did the after-show reading when Mike Pence attended)– appears on the cover of Variety’s inauguration Issue – holding a large American flag, with the headline, “NOW WHAT?” The big problem here is: the flag is very obviously gracing the floor – and while there’s no set precedent of punishment for an American flag hitting the floor, it’s a giant United States of America acknowledged no-no. Section 8 of the U.S. Code reads, “the flag should never touch anything beneath it, such as the ground, the floor, water, or merchandise.”
Now, it isn’t Dunham’s fault, of course – Variety and photographer Jake Chessum would be responsible for this particular photo peccadillo – but Dunham is the only celeb not hoisting up the flag. AND, while defending the funding of Planned Parenthood in her first person essay in the issue, she’s wearing a t-shirt that reads: “Women Are Powerful and Dangerous.” She’s already despised by conservatives and they’ve made that abundantly clear – but putting forth the idea that women are “dangerous” is only encouraging more bile, fear and pushing back from the right.
Sure, she’s entitled to her opinions, and I agree with most of them – but if she’d just keep her mouth shut sometimes, she wouldn’t always get her foot caught in it. Let’s hope she doesn’t wear those hooker heels too often.
