The naked truth about Lena Dunham

The acclaimed actress gets testy about questions on her on-screen nudity

January 10, 2014 at 7:12PM
(The Minnesota Star Tribune)
(The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Judd Apatow, Jenni Konner and Lena Dunham at TCA

LOS ANGELES -- It's perfectly OK for Lena Dunham to get naked on HBO's "Girls." Just don't ask her about it.

A reporter at the TV Critics press tour Thursday asked the actress why she often gets naked on the show when it's not in the name of tittilation or arousal. Dunham chose to interpret the question as a comment on her looks.

"If you're not into me, that's your problem," she said during a press conference. "You are going to have to kind of work that out with yourself."

It got worse.

Executive producer Judd Apatow then asked the male reporter if he had a girlfriend. When he responded in the positive, Apatow challenged him to ask her the same question and see what kind of reaction he got. Apatow later made a joke about the reporter looking at himself nake in the mirror and feeling bad.

Producer Jenni Konner interrupted another reporter's inquiry to say that earlier question about Dunham's nudity had sent her into a "rage spiral." "The idea that you would talk to a woman like that and accuse a woman of showing her body too much just sort of makes me sick."

My take? The reporter asked a completely legitimate question about an element of the show that is unique and prominent. What do you think? Fair or rude?

about the writer

about the writer

Neal Justin

Critic / Reporter

Neal Justin is the pop-culture critic, covering how Minnesotans spend their entertainment time. He also reviews stand-up comedy. Justin previously served as TV and music critic for the paper. He is the co-founder of JCamp, a non-profit program for high-school journalists, and works on many fronts to further diversity in newsrooms.

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