Lena Dunham Called Paul Ryan to Protest Steve Bannon’s Appointment
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By Thea Glassman November 16, 2016
Check your voicemail, Paul Ryan. There’s a timely, heartfelt plea from one Lena Dunham.
The “Girls” star posted an Instagram video of herself leaving a message for Ryan yesterday, pushing back against Donald Trump’s appointment of Steve Bannon, formerly executive chairman of the far-right news site Breitbart News, as his chief strategist.
Leaving a quick v-mail for Paul Ryan. You can too! 202-225-3031 ?
A video posted by Lena Dunham (@lenadunham) on
“I’m not sure you’re really going to listen to this,” she said. “But I hope you do, because I want to let you know that as a woman, as a Jew, as a person who cares about other human beings, people of color, the idea of appointing an anti-Semitic white supremacist…”
The machine then cut off.
Dunham, who was a vocal Hillary Clinton supporter, has nixed her original statement that she would move to Canada if Trump won the presidential election. Instead, she said, she chooses to stay and fight.
“I will go many places during my lifetime, surrounded by kindreds on a mission to spread justice and light. I can’t wait for all of this, and for the change to come, as we use what we’ve been given to protect those who can’t protect themselves,” Dunham wrote in an Instagram post on Friday. “What are you living for?”
And for those irked that she’s not following through on her promise to head to the Great White North? Dunham has some choice words for you.
“For those demanding I move to Canada based on something I said when this man seemed like a steak salesman with a long shot at the presidency: stay busy reveling in your new regime,” she wrote.
Thea Glassman is an Associate Editor at the Forward. Reach her at glassman@forward.com or on Twitter at @theakglassman.
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