Lena Dunham, creator of the celebrated HBO series “Girls,” addressed critics of her show’s all white cast today by stating that she has no personal relationships with any black people, and thus cannot possibly create a character that is anything but white.
Although her show takes place in New York City, arguably the most ethnically diverse place on Earth, the world of “Girls” revolves around four white women. The only people of color who appear on screen are homeless, taxi drivers, and/or drug dealers. Despite the controversy, Dunham has never seriously addressed the lack of diversity in her show in previous interviews. In fact, the NPR interview conducted today marks the first time she has talked about the issue without openly laughing at the question before saying “whatever.”
“Writers are supposed to write what they know,” Dunham told a reporter. “I don’t know any black people, so how do I write about them? I’m not sure how they think. I’m not sure what they feel. I’m not even sure they exist. Is there any conclusive evidence that people can really be black? I don’t see color, so I honestly don’t know.”
Many members of the black community who enjoy the antics of the “Girls” girls are displeased that the creator of the show not only included no non-white cast members, but consistently resorted to tired stereotypes when the characters are forced to interact with people of color.
“The show is hilarious. Don’t get me wrong,” said avid fan and black woman Keisha Jones. “But the only black person I’ve ever seen on screen during “Girls” was a crack-addicted stripper who was giving birth on a basketball court as the girls were walking to Starbucks. It was a little much.”
Those who know Dunham confirm that she is, in actuality, completely surrounded by nothing but white people at all times and becomes visibly distressed whenever a minority is present. According to those in her inner circle, the exclusion isn’t racism at this point, but an active effort to stay immersed in the all-white reality of “Girls” so she can continue to develop her characters accurately.
“She wants to preserve her integrity as a writer,” says close friend Diane Sherman. “She can’t start hanging out with coloreds now. It would ruin her vision. She needs inspiration for quality television. With every black or brown person Lena includes, the show takes a step away from being a fresh take on young adulthood and a step towards ‘Meet the Browns’ and nobody wants that to happen.”
“I don’t really understand the controversy,” said Dunham. “It’s ‘Girls,’ not ‘Homegirls.’ Even though all the characters are white women from wealthy backgrounds living in New York, this represents the typical girl experience as far as I can tell. The show’s accessible to everyone that matters.”
At the conclusion of the interview, after more pressing and a brief explanation of what a black person looks like, Dunham stated that these issues will be “addressed” in the next season of “Girls,” giving fans of all colors something to look forward to.
“You know, maybe I could think of a black character or a handicapped character or something. I did ask a black guy if I could borrow his pencil once in college. Well, I thought about it, but then I got too scared.”
Haha OMG my new favorite article…cannot wait to show all the people who’ve argued that the lack of PoCs in the show is natural.
interesting, would like links for these quotes though. having trouble figuring out what’s being said in jest and/or the context
She actually said “The show’s accessible to everyone that matters.”???????
Just… wow. Wowzers.
How do people not understand that this article is tongue-in-cheek? honestly, guys? It’s called satire, hyperbole, just plain joking…. Does no one have a sense of humor anymore??
“Even though all the characters are white women from wealthy backgrounds living in New York, this represents the typical girl experience as far as I can tell. ”
What an idiot. White and rich living in New York is not a typical girl experience.
guys, it’s satire.
the article where she actually talks about it in the interview is here.
http://www.npr.org/2012/05/07/152183865/lena-dunham-addresses-criticism-aimed-at-girls
So disgraceful. Interesting how she probably knows there are black viewers that are connecting with her white characters but she seems to think that can’t happen in reverse. Ask for one or two PoC and she acts like that would change the entire show.
I swear: I was literally listening to Al Jolson’s “Mammy” play in the back of my mind, as I read her and her WASP-y girl pal discuss what and what not a Black person is/was*lmfaoooo*…I am so very glad that I’ve never even heard of this bogus-fuckery prior to my buddy putting it on my wall to read; but, it’s now given me a reason to block it from my television as the vision of a cockamammy racist who is not worthy of holding onto my big, Black, proud, “scary” penis*lolol*…but: she could borrow my pencil, if it didn’t send her to the psych ward…
I would definitely like to second the call for some citations/links as to where these quotes came from. The article notes an August 19th NPR interview with Dunham, and I can find no evidence that such an interview occurred. I think we should be wary about what is fabricated and what is actually being said by the artist/her friends.
I hate the show Girls, but Dunham has always seemed to be far more articulate regarding the shows problems surrounding race than this blog post seems to portray.
LOL @ you all… I believe this article is tagged “satire”. Sigh.
“Girls” is white girl ratchetness… As a black woman who enjoys the show I’m glad there are no people of color in the main cast. We have enough ratchet black people on TV. I also appreciate what some white people really see, do and think of their world. It’s hella ignorant and honest in a way.
I know right… I love the show so much.. Totally a guilty pleasure but I hate her comments. Like Robert pattison and twilight. It takes away from the series when someone in cast or whatever is completely ignorant off screen
“Posted in: Satire, Television”
Come on now, people.
Posted in “satire”.
Notice this is tagged “satire.” It’s not real nor are the quotes.
um. here is the actual interview…
http://www.npr.org/2012/05/07/152183865/lena-dunham-addresses-criticism-aimed-at-girls
Is this fucking serious? Did her equally ignorant friend just refer to all black people as “coloureds”. Sorry what year is this?
I think this article is a poor attempt at satire. For those who don’t get it, those are not really her quotes. Here is the link to the actual interview: http://www.npr.org/2012/05/07/152183865/lena-dunham-addresses-criticism-aimed-at-girls
You shot yourself in the foot, beanpole. Now you can’t use the “I have black friends” excuse.
Can we get links for these quotes? This is so inconsistent from how she’s responded to criticism in the past. In her interview with NPR on 5/7/12, she responds in an incredibly thoughtful and respectful manner.
This post is tagged satire. It’s made up. It’s kind of obvious. I hate the show and love to find reasons to dislike Lena Dunham but unfortunately this isn’t an example of her racism/idiocy.
In case anyone reads this article and thinks it’s true, please notice the “Satire” tag at the bottom. I read this article, got upset, found the NPR interview, noticed everything here was false, then someone pointed out “Satire”. Lena Dunham should sue then put me in her second season since I’m a black actress. Perfect. Here’s the real NPR interview:
http://www.npr.org/2012/05/07/152183865/lena-dunham-addresses-criticism-aimed-at-girls
If anyone finds these actual quotes, please let me know.
You need to clearly state that this is a satire. Also, look up satire. This a little to close to lying.
I
I’m fucking done.
“She can’t start hanging with coloreds now” “it’s girls not homegirls” smh
…She did NOT say that.
Oh my God
She didn’t say that
damn it… why, this has me speechless. I enjoyed the show, now it won’t be the same. I mean wtf, really… *sigh* this is very upsetting and disappointing. You could of explained yourself a little better, lied even. i would of preferred a lie
lucky for you, this is a lie
It’s all satire folks. She didn’t say these things. The actual interview is quite thoughtful. Find it here:
http://www.npr.org/2012/05/07/152183865/lena-dunham-addresses-criticism-aimed-at-girls?ft=1&f=1008
It this a spoof of a real interview, like in Onion News?
… she got too scared to ask the black dude in her class for a pencil? The show isn’t “homegirls?” She is unable to hangout with “coloreds” now? Oh my god, what world are we living in?
I’d just like to congratulate you guys on this piece. As of this morning, more than 1500 people had reblogged it on Tumblr, & at least 3/4 believed it was real. Just goes to show that liberals are just as prone as conservatives are to believe nonsense when it confirms opinions they already hold.
I’ve never watched the show. I understand – from legit news sources – that its monochromatic cast is a problem (one among many). But I hope everyone who found out this story was a satire *after* reblogging their outrage remembers this, the next time they feel superior to people who watch Fox or listen to Limbaugh.
How do people not understand that this article is tongue-in-cheek? honestly, guys? It’s called satire, hyperbole, just plain joking…. Does no one have a sense of humor anymore??
where are these quotes coming from? this doesn’t sound real…
fact check plz
While writers are supposed to write what they know, aren’t they also encouraged to explore new environments, meet new people and get to understand new points of view?
I don’t buy Dunham’s argument at all. Even most coffehouse crowd and alt rocker types have a token black, latino or asian friend. Adding a black female character doesn’t suddenly turn the show into “homegirls.” I’m confident that there are naive, well to do, young African American women who move to NYC from the midwest who have similar experiences to these “Girls” and who likely hang out with a similar crowd.
I certainly know a few in Washington, DC, a city with 1/10th the population of NYCs.
Like Woody Allen’s many films set in an all-white New York.
http://www.npr.org/2012/05/07/152183865/lena-dunham-addresses-criticism-aimed-at-girls
this is the original interview. i feel she is just trying to justify not wanting to have any characters of color. she has male characters and even gay male characters. does she really think that she fully understands their specific points of view?
This is posted under “Satire,” so I would take it with a small grain of salt.
I actually enjoyed the first season a lot, but I’m not sure I’ll be able to watch the second season…Oh my God…! She becomes ‘visibly distressed’ when in the presence of a minority person? Are you f**king kidding me? That makes me want to hunt her down and throw some Spanglish at her until she breaks out in hives! It was bad enough when you had a highly overrated TV show like “Friends” with all these little privileged white people in their safe, loft cocoon completely insulated from the big, bad ‘coloreds’ of NY — Jesus, when does this freakin’ nonsense finally end?!!
Wait, what? Is this for real? Was she sober? I don’t even.
Oh man, I didn’t see the tiny little ‘satire’ tag. Here’s the thing: I saw this on Tumblr…without a satire tag. I would have gotten it if it were actually funny, I guess.
I literally don’t understand how people don’t understand that this is a satirical piece. It’s so freaking obvious. Get a grip, people! It’s like people just WANT to be offended at things.
bad attempt at humour here imho. too many people could slash would have read this and not realized it was fake; the comments attest to that.
I did hear one of the writers defend the mostly white cast by saying that these girls were from elite schools, like Barnard and Smith where there are few minorities. I attended one of the elite schools she mentioned and although we were in the minority, we were very present and not invisible. We were part of the lives of the white students. We were not segregated from their world, we were part of it. After hearing the interview, I decided to give the show a miss. I think it was a poor decision on the writers part and it doesn’t reflect the real world.
I love this article with my whole soul!
Is it really that unusual for a small group of friends to be all White? Is New York soooo diverse that its impossible for a group like that to exist? Is the White population there in single digits?
Really, you black people are such whiney idiots.