Lena Dunham apologizes to Odell Beckham Jr. amid 'Lenny Letter' interview controversy
Lena Dunham has apologized to NFL star Odell Beckham, Jr. on Instagram after her recent interview with Amy Schumer sparked rampant criticism.
In the latest issue of Dunham's Lenny Letter, the Girls creator speculated that Beckham Jr. ignored her at their Met Gala table because he did not find her sexually desirable. "I was sitting next to Odell Beckham Jr., and it was so amazing because it was like he looked at me and he determined I was not the shape of a woman by his standards," Dunham told Schumer.
"He was like, 'That’s a marshmallow. That’s a child. That’s a dog.' It wasn’t mean — he just seemed confused," she added.
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Twitter did not take kindly to Dunham's statement. Many accused her of projecting an unfounded sexual narrative onto Beckham Jr. — who, of course, could have been quiet for a wide variety of reasons.
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At first, Dunham chalked the whole statement up to her "sense of humor." But on Saturday, she issued an apology, saying that her callousness toward Beckham Jr. stemmed from insecurity.
"I struggle at industry events (and in life) with the sense that I don't rep a certain standard of beauty and so when I show up to the Met Ball surrounded by models and swan-like actresses it's hard not to feel like a sack of flaming garbage," she wrote.
She also apologized for "ascrib[ing] misogynistic thoughts" to Beckham Jr, writing, "I would never intentionally contribute to a long and often violent history of the over-sexualization of black male bodies — as well as false accusations by white women towards black men."
Read Dunham's full statement below.
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Chloe was the shopping editor at Mashable. She was also previously a culture reporter. You can follow her on Twitter at @chloebryan.
