Lenny Letter writer releases statement on divesting from Lena Dunham and her 'well-known racism'
Lenny Letter, the wide-ranging newsletter from Lena Dunham and "Girls" co-producer Jenni Konner, has lost a writer in the midst of Dunham and Konner's tone deaf remarks defending (and later apologizing for defending) an accused rapist.
Author Zinzi Clemmons released a statement on Sunday explaining why she is no longer will be contributing to the newsletter, citing her personal experience with the "well-known racism" within Dunham's circle and the desire for other women of color to divest from Dunham.
"For all you writers who are outraged about what she did, I encourage you to do the same. Especially women of color," Clemmons wrote in a scathing statement published on social media. "She cannot have our words if she cannot respect us."
Dunham has yet to publicly acknowledge the resignation, which has gone viral on Twitter.
In the letter, Clemmons discusses how she knew of Dunham and her circle in college, but "avoided those people like the plague because of their well-known racism."
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"I'd call their strain "hipster racism", which typically uses sarcasm as a cover, and in the end, it looks a lot like gaslighting--'It's just a joke. Why are you overreacting?' is a common response to these kinds of statements," she wrote.
She explained that two editors at Lenny were incredibly supportive of her work, but has still decided to leave.
"I would apologize to them for this decision, but I'm not doing that anymore," Clemmons wrote. "Their boss betrayed them by her actions, and it was wrong for her to make them choose between their authors and supporting their boss. They deserve so much better."
Clemmons also critiqued Dunham's apology for defending the "Girls" writer accused of rape by actress Aurora Perrineau.
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You can read Clemmons' full statement on Facebook here.
