HBO's new series "Girls" caused controversy after just one episode ... and it largely came down to race.
Now half-way through Season 1 of "Girls" (Sundays at 10:30 p.m. ET on HBO), the blacklash hasn't stopped. So in the first week of filming "Girls" Season 2, which was announced at the end of April, Lena Dunham -- who produces, directs, writes, stars in and created the series -- seemed to nip the issue in the bud: She was seen filming in New York with "Community" star Donald Glover.
Dunham and Glover were seen shooting "Girls" in Brooklyn and she tweeted a photo of the actor on Wednesday:
Dunham caught flack for the lack of diversity on "Girls" very early on, leading to web-wide uproar. When the show was picked up, the pressure was on for Dunham to do something about the essentially all-white cast of "Girls."
Just last week, Dunham spoke to NPR about the race issue, saying, "Something I wanted to avoid was tokenism in casting ... Each character was a piece of me or based on someone close to me. And only later did I realize that it was four white girls. As much as I can say it was an accident, it was only later as the criticism came out, I thought, 'I hear this and I want to respond to it' ... All I want to do is sound sensitive and not say anything that will horrify anyone or make them feel more isolated, but I did write something that was super-specific to my experience, and I always want to avoid rendering an experience I can't speak to accurately."
But Dunham told HuffPost TV in April, before the show even aired, that she wanted to make sure the "#whitegirlproblems" trope didn't overtake the show. "When I get a tweet from a girl who's like, 'I'd love to watch the show, but I wish there were more women of color.' You know what? I do, too, and if we have the opportunity to do a second season, I'll address that," she said.
Co-executive producer Judd Apatow also echoed Dunham's sentiment shortly after "Girls" came under fire. "The show will be on for a long time, so there's plenty of time to have every type of person on the show," he told HuffPost TV.
Is hiring Donald Glover an attempt to pacify angry fans -- and haters? Let us know what you think of the casting in the comments below!
"Girls" airs Sundays at 10:30 p.m. ET on HBO.
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