Lena Dunham Slams Media's Obsession With Her Weight

Thank you for this @Refinery29. I feel I've made it pretty clear over the years that I don't give even the tiniest of shits what anyone else feels about my body. I've gone on red carpets in couture as a size 14. I've done sex scenes days after surgery, mottled with scars. I've accepted that my body is an ever changing organism, not a fixed entity- what goes up must come down and vice versa. I smile just as wide no matter my current size because I'm proud of what this body has seen and done and represented. Chronic illness sufferer. Body-shaming vigilante. Sexual assault survivor. Raging hottie. Just like all of YOU. Right now I'm struggling to control my endometriosis through a healthy diet and exercise. So my weight loss isn't a triumph and it also isn't some sign I've finally given in to the voices of trolls. Because my body belongs to ME--at every phase, in every iteration, and whatever I'm doing with it, I'm not handing in my feminist card to anyone. So thank you to my girl @ashleygraham for writing so gorgeously about this on @lennyletter (link in bio). Thank you to @tracyandersonmethod for teaching me that exercise has the power to counteract my pain and anxiety, and to @jennikonner for being my partner in FUCK IT. I refuse to celebrate these bullshit before-and-after pictures. Don't we have infinitely more pressing news to attend to? So much love to all my web friends who demand that life be more than a daily weigh in, who know their merit has nothing to do with their size, who fight to be seen and heard and accepted. I love you- Lena

A post shared by Lena Dunham (@lenadunham) on Mar 16, 2017 at 3:11pm PDT

Lena Dunham has been an outspoken advocate for body confidence since her HBO show, Girls, first premiered. The 30-year-old actress and writer has been proudly going nude on the show, proving to viewers and critics there is more to the shapely figure than just the norm seen on TV.

But Dunham has had enough. For six years, the star has been the subject of much ridicule, body shaming and criticism — something her co-star, Andrew Rannells, 38, tells Andy Cohen of Watch What Happens Live is shocking as he has witnessed other women throwing jabs at Dunham's appearance.

"That to me I find the most — I get very defensive on her behalf," he said. "She has such grace and such a great sense of humor about all of that, that she sort of lets it all roll. But I get defensive about it. That I'm like, how can you possibly be critical of that?"

Tired of the criticism, Dunham took to Instagram on Thursday to share some of her thoughts on everyone's obsession with her weight, saying in simple terms: "f**k it."

The star who has walked red carpets in couture as a size 14 says she has made it pretty clear over the years that she "doesn't give even the tiniest of sh*ts what anyone else feels about" her body.

"I've accepted that my body is an ever changing organism, not a fixed entity — what goes up must come down and vice versa," she said "I smile just as wide no matter my current size because I'm proud of what this body has seen and done and represented. Chronic illness sufferer. Body-shaming vigilante. Sexual assault survivor. Raging hottie. Just like all of YOU."

MORE: Watch: The 'Today Show' Gets Awkward When Lena Dunham Talks Male Anatomy

Dunham goes on to share how she has been struggling to control her endometriosis through a healthy diet and exercise.

"So my weight loss isn't a triumph and it also isn't some sign I've finally given in to the voices of trolls. Because my body belongs to ME — at every phase, in every iteration, and whatever I'm doing with it, I'm not handing in my feminist card to anyone," Dunham wrote.

Dunham credits Tracy Anderson for teaching her exercise has the power to counteract pain and anxiety, and Girls showrunner and writer, Jenni Konner for being her partner in the "F**K IT" ideal.

"I refuse to celebrate these bullsh*t before-and-after pictures. Don't we have infinitely more pressing news to attend to?" she shared. "So much love to all my web friends who demand that life be more than a daily weigh in, who know their merit has nothing to do with their size, who fight to be seen and heard and accepted. I love you – Lena."

Dunham's post came after the star attended Anderson's New York Upper East Side studio opening and Refinery29 published an op-ed calling out body shamers and online trolls who criticized the weight loss seen in her recent appearance as "drastic."

This past January, Dunham wrote an equally empowering Instagram post after Glamour magazine did not Photoshop her cellulite out for a cover story starring the 'girls' of her HBO hit.

Okay, here goes: throughout my teens I was told, in no uncertain terms, that I was fucking funny looking. Potbelly, rabbit teeth, knock knees- I could never seem to get it right and it haunted my every move. I posed as the sassy confident one, secretly horrified and hurt by careless comments and hostility. Let's get something straight: I didn't hate what I looked like- I hated the culture that was telling me to hate it. When my career started, some people celebrated my look but always through the lens of "isn't she brave? Isn't it such a bold move to show THAT body on TV?" Then there were the legions of trolls who made high school teasing look like a damned joke with the violent threats they heaped on, the sickening insults that made me ache for teen girls like me who might be reading my comments. Well, today this body is on the cover of a magazine that millions of women will read, without photoshop, my thigh on full imperfect display. Whether you agree with my politics, like my show or connect to what I do, it doesn't matter- my body isn't fair game. No one's is, no matter their size, color, gender identity, and there's a place for us all in popular culture to be recognized as beautiful. Haters are gonna have to get more intellectual and creative with their disses in 2017 because none of us are going to be scared into muumuus by faceless basement dwellers, or cruel blogs, or even our partners and friends. Thank you to the women in Hollywood (and on Instagram!) leading the way, inspiring and normalizing the female form in EVERY form, and thank you to @glamourmag for letting my cellulite do the damn thing on news stands everywhere today ❤️ Love you all.

A post shared by Lena Dunham (@lenadunham) on Jan 3, 2017 at 9:00am PST

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