Actress Tessa Thompson wants to clear up any misunderstanding regarding her recent remarks about Lena Dunham and Hollywood’s Time’s Up initiative against workplace sexual harassment.
The two were photographed together alongside other celebrities to promote Time’s Up, the action plan and legal defense fund that aims to combat gender and racial discrimination.
Many were quick to call out the participation of “Girls” creator Dunham, who defended Murray Miller, a writer on the HBO series, after actress Aurora Perrinea accused him of rape.
“Why is Lena Dunham there?” one commenter wrote of the Time’s Up photo. “She’s part of the problem. No thank you to Time’s Up.”
Thompson later removed the photo from her Instagram, but not before reportedly responding to the criticism.
“Lena was not anywhere present in our group during the countless hours of work for the last two months,” the “Thor: Ragnarok” star wrote. “We hosted an open house for actresses for red carpet messaging and Lena presence was a surprise to us all.”
She continued: “This is a time of reckoning. And for many, a re-education. So many women also have real work to do. I’m afraid it’s too nuanced a conversation to have on this platform. But I hear you, and know that your thoughts and words are not lost on me. It’s been discussed.”
But after a string of headlines framed the exchange as Thompson “calling out” Dunham, Thompson took to Twitter, emphasizing that the Time’s Up campaign is “for everyone, in all capacities, contributions big and small.”
“I sometimes lack finesse in navigating social media,” Thompson wrote in a statement she posted to Twitter. “Hard to discuss issues with nuance there. A response I made to comments on an Instagram became fodder for a piece that I believe was designed to create conflict where there isn’t any. It’s perhaps more complex than that. But I, in no way, want to diminish Lena Dunham and her work, her voice, and her importance. We have spoken and she knows my heart.
She continued: “I feel a responsibility to women that have sometimes felt ignored, dismissed, and underrepresented. They are my beacons. I regret that my words were misinterpreted to distract from the most important thing: The Time’s Up campaign is for everyone, in all capacities, contributions big and small. It doesn’t belong to any one. It is for us all. The beauty of this huge collaboration has been a group of countless committed people who have come together for a shared purpose. To create change. And it is such a powerful thing. I stand, humbled, with everyone involved. Linked not ranked.”
Dunham later released a statement that shows no bad blood toward Thompson. She explained she was absent from previous Time’s Up planning due to “highly personal reasons.”
“I was honored to be invited to the meeting by a close friend and to observe the work that these amazing women have been doing the past few months,” Dunham said in a statement to Indiewire. “For highly personal reasons, I’ve been unable to join previous efforts but being asked to be a part of this celebratory moment was truly beautiful. I’ve worked with Tessa and respect her artistry and admire her consistent candor.”
Move it along, no feud to see here.
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