News | Entertainment
20 Dec 2025 17:48
NZCity News
NZCity CalculatorReturn to NZCity

  • Start Page
  • Personalise
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • Finance
  • Shopping
  • Jobs
  • Horoscopes
  • Lotto Results
  • Photo Gallery
  • Site Gallery
  • TVNow
  • Dating
  • SearchNZ
  • NZSearch
  • Crime.co.nz
  • RugbyLeague
  • Make Home
  • About NZCity
  • Contact NZCity
  • Your Privacy
  • Advertising
  • Login
  • Join for Free

  •   Home > News > Entertainment

    Lena Dunham admitted her privilege helped her find success in Hollywood

    The 'Girls' star was just 23 years old when HBO commissioned her hit comedy - which she created, wrote, directed and starred in while acting as ex ecutive producer - and she admitted her "career took off at a young age with relative ease" as she responded to backlash on social media


    In a series of tweets, she wrote: "Whenever I found out I'm trending, I have to immediately check if I'm alive! Then, I try and see if there's a constructive dialogue to have on Twitter. Often there isn't, but today there really WAS.

    "It actually wasn't a dialogue - it was just me agreeing that the Hollywood system is rigged in favour of white people and that my career took off at a young age with relative ease, ease I wasn't able to recognise because I also didn't know what privilege was."

    Lena, now 34, insisted she has learned a lot of lessons over the past decade, and she opened up on what she needs to do now to help bring about change.

    She added: "The past ten years have been a series of lessons. The lesson now? Sit down. Shut up, unless it's to advocate for change for Black people.

    "Listen. Make art in private for awhile- no one needs your book right now lady. Give reparations widely. Defund the police. Rinse & repeat. (sic)"

    The actress was responding after critics on social media brought up a past interview with The Hollywood Reporter in which she opened up about her lack of preparation and development when she signed with HBO for 'Girls', while others pointed to her family's wealth.

    Discussing her pitch to HBO - which she described as the worst "you've ever read" - Lena admitted she didn't even go into characters or a plot.

    She previously said: "I wrote HBO this one sheet. It was like a tone poem about millennial life. It doesn't mention a character, doesn't mention a plot. "'They're everything, they're nothing, they're everywhere, they're nowhere.'

    "I mean, it's the worst pitch you've ever read -- pretentious and horrifying -- but I remember writing it, sitting on the floor listening to Tegan and Sara in my underwear, being like, 'I'm a genius.' "

    © 2025 Bang Showbiz, NZCity

     Other Entertainment News
     20 Dec: Tate McRae has felt overwhelmed by the scrutiny she's faced
     20 Dec: Ethan Hawke writes all of his lines by hand
     20 Dec: Jelly Roll "could feel [himself] dying" before embarking on his weight-loss journey
     20 Dec: Sydney Sweeney felt a "bittersweet emptiness" after she finished filming Christy
     20 Dec: Teyana Taylor has always dreamed of achieving "great things"
     20 Dec: The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are set to ex ecutive produce a new documentary called Cookie Queens
     20 Dec: Lili Reinhart has been diagnosed with endometriosis
     Top Stories

    RUGBY RUGBY
    A steep challenge juggling a busy calendar for incoming Black Ferns head coach Whitney Hansen More...


    BUSINESS BUSINESS
    Sport New Zealand chief executive Raelene Castle has shed light on the challenge sports administrators face between balancing transparency and confidentiality More...



     Today's News

    Boxing:
    Live updates: Jake Paul vs Anthony Joshua, Netflix boxing match in Miami 17:46

    Rugby:
    A steep challenge juggling a busy calendar for incoming Black Ferns head coach Whitney Hansen 17:46

    Law and Order:
    A first look through the Epstein files reveals celebrity snaps, police notes and a lot of Bill Clinton 17:26

    Cricket:
    Daryl Mitchell has his fourth test wicket 17:26

    Entertainment:
    Tate McRae has felt overwhelmed by the scrutiny she's faced 17:20

    Accident and Emergency:
    Emergency services are at the scene of a serious two-vehicle crash on State Highway One in Northland's Kaiwaka 16:56

    Entertainment:
    Ethan Hawke writes all of his lines by hand 16:50

    International:
    Epstein files partially released by US Department of Justice 16:26

    Entertainment:
    Jelly Roll "could feel [himself] dying" before embarking on his weight-loss journey 16:20

    Boxing:
    Undisputed Kiwi boxing champion Cherneka Johnson has defended her bantamweight title 16:16


     News Search






    Power Search


    © 2025 New Zealand City Ltd