Actress Lena Dunham is reeling after the entire world seemed to crack down on her following a “friend chat” with comedian Amy Schumer for Lenny Letter earlier this week.
During their conversation, Dunham told Schumer she felt “rejected” by New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. during May’s Met Gala, New York’s premier fashion event.
Dunham said she and Beckham Jr. were seated at the same table, but claimed the 2014 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year flat-out ignored her over what she interpreted as sexist and racist reasons.
“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 said. “He was like, ‘That’s a marshmallow. That’s a child. That’s a dog.’ It wasn’t mean — he just seemed confused.
“The vibe was very much like, ‘Do I want to [expletive] it? Is it wearing a . . . yep, it’s wearing a tuxedo. I’m going to go back to my cell phone.’ It was like we were forced to be together, and he literally was scrolling Instagram rather than have to look at a woman in a bow tie. I was like, ‘This should be called the Metropolitan Museum of Getting Rejected by Athletes.’ ”
In the face of intense and unrelenting public scrutiny, Dunham offered a lengthy apology to Beckham Jr. via Instagram on Saturday.
I owe Odell Beckham Jr an apology.
Despite my moments of bravado, 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. This felt especially intense with a handsome athlete as my dinner companion and a bunch of women I was sure he’d rather be seated with. But I went ahead and projected these insecurities and made totally narcissistic assumptions about what he was thinking, then presented those assumptions as facts.
I feel terrible about it. Because after listening to lots of valid criticism, I see how unfair it is to ascribe misogynistic thoughts to someone I don’t know AT ALL. Like, we have never met, I have no idea the kind of day he’s having or what his truth is. But most importantly, 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.
I’m so sorry, particularly to OBJ, who has every right to be on his cell phone. The fact is I don’t know (I don’t know a lot of things) and I shouldn’t have acted like I did. Much love and thanks, Lena.
Dunham, perhaps best known as the creator of hit HBO series “Girls,” isn’t new to this sort of controversy. She often finds herself on the receiving end of criticism for her outlandish statements, but perhaps none resulted in as much negative exposure as these did.
To this point, Beckham Jr. has not responded to Dunham’s initial comments or her apology.
