Lena Dunham apologizes (twice) to Odell Beckham Jr. for Met Ball comment - Action News
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Lena Dunham apologizes (twice) to Odell Beckham Jr. for Met Ball comment

Lena Dunham has been praised for her candid comments about feminism and body image, but this time her typically charming and unfiltered 'insecurities' are backfiring.

Girls star says she made 'narcissistic assumptions' about football athlete following backlash from newsletter

Lena Dunham at The Metropolitan Museum of Art Gala May 2, also known as the Met Ball. Dunham faced backlash for her comments about NFL star Odell Beckham Jr., with whom she shared a table at the event. (Charles Sykes/The Associated Press)

Lena Dunham has beenpraised for her candid comments about feminism andbody image, but this timeher typically charmingand unfiltered "insecurities" are backfiring.

In a conversationalinterview the Girls creator and star did with comedian buddy Amy Schumer for Dunham'snewsletterLenny Letter,Dunham described attending New York City's swanky Met Ball in May.

"You and I were literally sitting across from each other at the Met Ball, and it was so surreal to get to do that," she said to the Trainwreck actress.

Then shereferred to one of her table mates, New York Giants wide receiverOdell BeckhamJr.

"It was like he looked at me and he determined I was not the shape of a woman by his standards. He was like, 'that's a marshmallow. That's a child. That's a dog.'It wasn't mean he just seemed confused," she wrote as part of the interview transcript published online Friday.

NFL football player Odell Beckham Jr., of the New York Giants, seen here in July, hasn't responded to any of Dunham's comments. (Jordan Strauss/The Associated Press)

"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.'"

It didn't take long for backlash to mount on social media, many laying out arguments for why the article might have presenteda myopic andpotentially damaging view.

Dunhamtried to clarify her wordsin a series of tweets Friday following the release of the story but stopped short of saying sorry.

She thenposted a lengthy apology on Instagram Saturday "after listening to lots of valid criticism". She wroteshe struggles at industry events surrounded by "models and swan-like actresses" with whom she assumed the NFL player would have rather been seated.

"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."

Whether Dunham is genuinely regretful or just being provocative to keepher name in the spotlight, the conversation is missing a key voice. Beckham Jr. is stayingout of it for now he hasn'tresponded to her story orsocial media mea culpa.