Lena Dunham Reacts To Criticism About White Privilege: My Whiteness Opens Doors, It’s Time To Advocate For Change For Black People

Lena Dunham

Lena Dunham Reacts To Criticism About White Privilege: My Whiteness Opens Doors, It’s Time To Advocate For Change For Black People

Some social media users are questioning how writer/actress Lena Dunham‘s fame came to be. Lena Dunham went viral this past weekend when an old article about how HBO acquired her critically-acclaimed show, “Girls” began to circulate. The tweet read:

“.@LenaDunham was 23 when she sold #Girls to HBO with a page-and-a-half-long pitch, without a character nor a plot”

Lena Dunham was immediately criticized by some, as a Black filmmaker ran down the extensive requirements he’s asked to fulfill before even being considered by networks.

See more reactions below:

https://twitter.com/DeviantOld/status/1277377475367120897?s=20

The 34-year-old caught wind of her latest viral status and responded to the criticism:

“Whenever I find out I’m trending, I have to immediately check if I’m alive! Then, I try and see if there’s a constructive dialogue to have on Twitter. Often there isn’t, but today there really WAS…It actually wasn’t a dialogue – it was just me agreeing that the Hollywood system is rigged in favor of white people and that my career took off at a young age with relative ease, ease I wasn’t able to recognize because I also didn’t know what privilege was…The past ten years have been a series of lessons. The lesson now? Sit down. Shut up, unless it’s to advocate for change for Black people.”

She explained that she plans to use her privilege to help the overlooked:

“The fact is plenty of people had the talent, drive and focus I had. My whiteness opened doors and made my vision palatable for the mainstream. It me a long time to understand and digest that as Black critics and thinkers patiently explained. It’s blindingly clear to me now…In coming months my company will share mandate on how we are holding ourselves accountable…”

What do you think about Lena Dunham’s response? Let us know in the comments!