This article may contain graphic and/or adult content unsuitable for minors and sensitive readers.
Lena Dunham was recently "cornered" by a sexist male TV director who pestered the Girls star to encourage a fellow actress to disrobe on camera.The 30-year-old, who is known for going nude on camera for her hit drama series, was approached by an industry colleague during a cast night out to celebrate wrapping Girls' sixth and final season.Lena's Girls producer and co-showrunner Jenni Konner recounted the incident for Tuesday's (04Oct16) edition of their Lenny Letter publication, in which Konner expressed her disgust at the forward nature of the unnamed man, who they were only meeting for the first time.
She claims he took Lena aside "within five minutes" and allegedly showed her an explicit image on his phone, a still from his TV series, before suggesting her own willingness to strip off onscreen made her the perfect person to talk to the reluctant actress, whose identity also remains a mystery. Konner continued, "The director asked Lena to have dinner alone the following night with an actress on the show he works on. Not because he thought they should meet, but because he wanted Lena to persuade the actress to 'show her t**s, or at least some vag (vagina)' on TV. Surely Lena could make a compelling argument. After all, he continued, 'You would show anything.
Even your a**hole.'"Konner was stunned by how comfortable he was with talking so bluntly to Lena, despite having just met, and went on to air her concerns about how he likely treats others in his employ."It's easy to speculate what might be said to women working with him, under him, dependent on his approval," she mused. Konner noted it's not the first time Dunham has faced such sexist conduct, insisting it's a frequent occurrence.
"This is fairly common behavior with strangers and Lena," she continued. "In my most generous moments, I can see their nervousness, their familiarity with her frank sexual work, and their desire to make a connection."But that doesn't mean women should stand for such blatant misogyny, and Konner wants her fellow females to speak out to put a stop to the rampant behaviour. Konner concludes, "Our voices are our superpower. The only thing standing between men and outdated, hideous behaviour is their ability to get away with it."
