Lena Dunham Called Out As Hipster Racist
Once again Lena Dunham has opened her mouth and hot garbage has flowed out. This time she is not getting a pass and some of those closest to her are calling Dunham on her hypocrisy. Dunham came out and defended Murray Miller, a writer and producer on Dunham’s show Girls, whom actress Aurora Perrineau said raped her when she was under age.
In response to Dunham’s defense of Murray, Zinzi Clemmons, an author on Dunham’s current project, Lenny Letter, stated she would no longer write for the project and urged other woman of color to do the same. It should be noted that Aurora Perrineau is of mixed race (father is black, mother is white). That last point is important because one could infer that Clemmons believes that Dunham would’ve supported a white woman making these claims against Murray.
Clemmons wrote a detailed statement noting how she and Dunham attended the same college. She stated she avoided Dunham and her ilk due to their known racism. Clemmons made two powerful statements that shine a light on Dunham and her attitude that stand out. The first is when she stated
“Most of these acquaintances were like Lena-wealthy, with parents who were influential in the art world,” she wrote. “They had a lot of power and seemed to get off on simultaneously wielding it and denying it”. I’ve experienced this in college and law school, the whole “My family is wealthy and you’re poor, but I’m fighting this fight with you, so accept me and be glad I’m on your side”. Clemmons also said that dunham’s friends were known for their “hipster racism, which typically uses sarcasm as a cover,” excusing racist statements as “just a joke”.
I don’t know what’s in Lena Dunham’s heart so I want categorically slam her as an all out racist. What I will say is that for her to release a statement supporting someone accused of raping an underage actress that worked on her show, because she is closer friends with him than her, tells me a lot about her. Can liberals please stop putting her in the category of young feisty feminists that are leading the charge against sexism and misogyny? She’s a seemingly spoiled brat, that started on third base, but claims she hit a home run when she scored with her critically acclaimed show “Girls”.
Lena Dunham is not a feminist, she’s not a civil rights leader, she’s not a social justice warrior. No Lena is none of those things, she’s actually a talented girl who doesn’t know when to shut her mouth, not hit send on twitter, and she really doesn’t have the slightest understanding of what the women of color she so proudly says she wants to promote and support with “Lenny Letters”, are actually up against. She doesn’t understand what they’re up against because she’s what they’re up against.
I will note that Dunham somewhat apologized to the general public and backed away from her support of Miller, she never did apologize to Aurora Perrineau, the actual alleged victim in all of this.
Lena Dunham, the creator and star of HBO’s “Girls,” generated widespread controversy last week after issuing and then walking back a statement defending Murray Miller, a writer and producer on the show whom actress Aurora Perrineau said raped her when she was 17 and he was in his 30s.
In response, author Zinzi Clemmons, a contributor to Dunham’s online newsletter Lenny Letter, announced Saturday on Facebook that she would no longer write for the publication and urged women of color “to divest from Lena Dunham.”
Clemmons offered examples of Dunham’s behavior and connections during college as further explanation for her decision, writing that she used to avoid Dunham and her circle of friends in college because of their “well-known racism.”
My statement on why I will no longer write for @lennyletter, and the behavior I witnessed firsthand from @lenadunham’s friends.It is time for women of color–black women in particular–to divest from Lena Dunham. pic.twitter.com/dxOWCLhTpA
“For all you writers who are outraged about what she did, I encourage you to do the same. Especially women of color. She cannot have our words if she cannot respect us,” Clemmons wrote in the post that she later shared on Twitter.
In her post, Clemmons said that she had known Dunham, as well as “Girls” co-star Jemima Kirke, since they attended college. The author said Dunham’s friends were known for their “hipster racism, which typically uses sarcasm as a cover,” excusing racist statements as “just a joke.”
“Most of these acquaintances were like Lena―wealthy, with parents who are influential in the art world,” she wrote. “They had a lot of power and seemed to get off on simultaneously wielding it and denying it.”
“While our first instinct is to listen to every woman’s story, our insider knowledge of Murray’s situation makes us confident that sadly this accusation is one of the 3 percent of assault cases that are misreported every year,” they wrote in a statement. “It is a true shame to add to that number, as outside of Hollywood women still struggle to be believed. We stand by Murray and this is all we’ll be saying about this issue.”
“I naively believed it was important to share my perspective on my friend’s situation as it has transpired behind the scenes over the last few months. I now understand that it was absolutely the wrong time to come forward with such a statement and I am so sorry,” she wrote. “We apologize to any women who have been disappointed.”
Steve
Steve is an affordable multifamily housing professional that is also the co-founder of Whiskey Congress. Steve has written for national publications such as The National Marijuana News and other outlets as a guest blogger on topics covering sports, politics, and cannabis. Steve loves whiskey, cigars, and uses powerlifting as an outlet to deal with the fact that no one listens to his brilliant ideas.
