Lena Dunham Lands in Social Media Hot Water Over ‘Racist’ Tweet
Image by Getty Images
By Thea Glassman September 6, 2016
A tweet Lena Dunham wrote five years ago has resurfaced—and is causing a major internet backlash.
“An uncool thought to have: ‘is that guy walking in the dark behind me a rapist? Never mind, he’s Asian.’” the actress wrote on July 12, 2011.
An uncool thought to have: “is that guy walking in the dark behind me a rapist? Never mind, he’s Asian.”
— Lena Dunham (@lenadunham) July 12, 2011
The Twitterverse responded with swift calls of racism.
“Wow Lena way to deny Asian men’s agency,” a user wrote, while another called her out for displaying “white privilege.”
One user used the opportunity to point out the much discussed lack of diversity on Dunham’s show “Girls,” quipping: “Is that guy walking in the dark behind me in Girls? Never mind, he’s Asian.”
. @lenadunham you CANNOT be so lost in #whiteprivilege that you think this is funny. #racist #problematic #youknowbetter
— Bflood28 (@Bflood28) September 2, 2016
@lenadunham @jonny_is_good wow Lena way to deny Asian men’s agency
— huge bean in the bar (@McLeemz) September 2, 2016
@lenadunham “is that guy walking in the dark behind me in Girls? Never mind, he’s Asian”
— Matt Provenzano (@mattprov94) September 2, 2016
@lenadunham What a gross, racist thing to say. Seriously consider deleting your account.
— Rebel Mur (@marybrebner) September 2, 2016
Dunham has been having a rough time on social media lately. Last week, the actress landed in hot water after recounting an incident of being “rejected” by football player Odell Beckham Jr. at the Met Ball.
“I was sitting next to Odell Beckham Jr., and it was so amazing because it was like he looked at me and he determined I was not the shape of a woman by his standards,” Dunham wrote in her Lenny Newsletter. “He was like, ‘That’s a marshmallow. That’s a child. That’s a dog.’ It wasn’t mean — he just seemed confused.”
After a subsequent internet backlash, she took to Instagram to apologize for her comments, calling her assumptions “narcissistic.”
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