Life

Lena Dunham’s For Corbyn. Blessing Or Curse?

Lena Dunham Image by Getty Images

By Phoebe Maltz Bovy June 5, 2017

Lena Dunham, the woman widely (if unfairly) blamed for dooming Hillary Clinton’s candidacy with her enthusiastic support, has just gotten behind… Jeremy Corbyn, of the British Labour Party. From her Instagram: “With Jeremy Corbyn you have a chance at a fair and just leader who will temper the fascism and darkness of our current American moment.”

We here in America have watched in horror as our siblings in the U.K. have been attacked these past weeks and our president has been unable to offer so much as a word of condolence, only using this to push forward his racist and xenophobic agenda. We no longer have the option to pretend that what happens in Britain or America is separate. We do not live in fiefdoms. We must all work together to quell the tide of hate and complacency. Which is why, despite my US Passport, I desperately urge my U.K. friends/fans/frenemies to get out and vote for the Labour Party. With Jeremy Corbyn you have a chance at a fair and just leader who will temper the fascism and darkness of our current American moment. Thank you for considering, for getting your butts out there and for knowing- even when you feel abandoned by electoral politics- that your vote is all we have. This Thursday, June 8!

A post shared by Lena Dunham (@lenadunham) on Jun 5, 2017 at 9:06am PDT

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Will the endorsement of a Jewish (but American) writer and celebrity help Corbyn’s popularity among British Jews, so soon before the June 8th election? Is Lena Dunham, where Britain’s Bernie is concerned, on-brand, or not so much? We shall see. Whatever happens, let us please learn the lesson that Dunham’s power to influence world events is in fact finite.

Phoebe Maltz Bovy edits the Sisterhood, and can be reached at [email protected]. She is the author of “The Perils Of ‘Privilege’”, from St. Martin’s Press. Follow her on Twitter, @tweetertation

Phoebe Maltz Bovy is a former editor of the Sisterhood blog at the Forward. Her writing has appeared in several publications, including The New Republic and The Atlantic. Her book, “The Perils of ‘Privilege,’” was published by St. Martin’s Press in March 2017. She has a PhD in French and French Studies from New York University, and has read a lot of 19th century French Jewish newspapers for a 21st century American.

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