Lena Dunham Apologizes For…Accidentally Creating ‘Fat Isn’t Beautiful’ Sweatshirts

Oh, Lena! Image by Getty Images

By Jenny Singer September 13, 2018

32-year-old auteur Lena Dunham is one of the most flexible people in the world — her foot is almost always in her mouth. On Wednesday, Dunham lived up to the name of the Twitter parody account “Lena Dunham Apologizes,” apologizing for collaborating on a fashion line that includes sweatshirts boasting slogans like, “Being fat is not beautiful. It’s an excuse.”

Here at the Schmooze we’re Dunham apologists — we think that the “Girls” creator is a brilliant artist and heady thinker whose attempts to do the wrong thing often go awry, and though she should be held up to critique, we believe she faces undo and illegitimate criticism that stems from sexism and fat-phobia.

But Lena, we have to say, you walked yourself into this one.

After the outcry, catalyzed by a post about the clothing item by fat-positive model Tess Holiday, Dunham posted a lengthy Instagram caption, explaining that while the sweatshirt is a result of her collaboration with clothing company Revolve, it was meant to be subversive, not hateful.

LOLLLLL @REVOLVE y’all are a mess. pic.twitter.com/CrzOkd5oE4

— Tess Holliday ? (@Tess_Holliday) September 12, 2018

The idea of the collaboration, Dunham wrote, was “sweatshirts that highlight quotes from prominent women who have experienced internet trolling & abuse,” with proceeds from the sales given to charities that educate and empower young women. Dunham went on: “Without consulting me or any of the women involved, Revolve presented the sweatshirts on thin white women, never thinking about the fact that difference and individuality is what gets you punished on the Internet, or that lack of diversity in representation is a huge part of the problem (in fact, the problem itself.)” The star says she will be taking her name off the collaboration, and making a donation to feminist causes in honor of every woman whose name was attached to the hurtful project.

Oh, Lena! The treachery of corporate collaborations should be obvious at this point. Maybe a better sweatshirt slogan would be: Ceci n’est pas une sweatshirt for people who hate fat people.

Jenny Singer is the deputy lifestyle editor for the Forward. You can reach her at [email protected] or on Twitter @jeanvaljenny

Jenny Singer is a freelance writer with pieces in Vox, the Washington Post, The San Francisco Chronicle, Teen Vogue, and more. She was previously a staff writer at Glamour and the Forward, and she’s currently getting an MFA in nonfiction writing at the University of Iowa.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO