Lena Dunham didn't speak to the press at the    Writers Guild Awards on Sunday, nor did she give a long speech    when she accepted the trophy for best new series. And yet, she    still finds herself embroiled in a controversy that launched    during the show, even though it was none of her doing.  
    Comedian and presenter Lisa Lampanelli, who is    famous for her foul mouth, tweeted a photo of herself and    Dunham at the awards, with the caption "Me with my n---a    @LenaDunham of @HBOGirls - I love this beyotch!" Predictably,    the tweet fired up critics, angry at Lampanelli -- a white    woman -- for using the word.  
    STORY: Alex Karpovsky, Lena Dunham and    a New Generation of Indie Filmmakers  
    One writer, Shayla Pierce, wrote several stories for various online publications    expressing her outrage, and then took to Twitter to call out    Dunham for not condemning Lampanelli.  
    ".@LenaDunham has showed her true colors on this whole n-word    debacle. Her silence speaks volumes," she tweeted. "I don't    think I'll be watching @girlsHBO anymore. And I say that with    honest sadness ... Lena advertises herself as a progressive but    she's chosen not to address the situation. She seems phony to    me now."  
    Dunham responded on Twitter, writing that she would never use    the n-word and that Lampanelli's tweet made her "supremely    uncomfortable" but said she stayed silent because "twitter    debates breed more twitter debates."  
    STORY: The Women Behind    'Girls'  
    She added that "140 characters will never be enough for the    kind of dialogue that will actually help us address issues of    race and class," and then commended Pierce for a "beautifully    written piece," apologizing for any discomfort she might have    felt.  
    Pierce happily accepted her response, writing, "Thank you so    much. And I do <3 you and your work. Thanks for addressing    this *hugsies* @lenadunham."  
    For her part, Lampanelli has defended her use of the word,    saying "The N-word ending in 'er' is far    different context from the word ending in 'a.' Ask any person    who knows the urban dictionary, it means 'friend.' "  
See original here:
Lena Dunham Responds to Anger Over Comedian's N-Word Tweet