Once Upon A Time In Hollywood delivered Quentin Tarantino’s career-best opening last weekend in the U.S., but across the pond, the London premiere has everyone talking about something other than the movie itself. As one can see in the above photo, Lena Dunham went in for a kiss — and it looks like she was aiming for the mouth — with co-star Brad Pitt on the red carpet. Let’s just say that Pitt did not reciprocate, and the moment has sparked a vigorous discussion about consent and double standards. A Lena-style public statement on the matter may be coming soon.
Dunham, obviously, is no stranger to controversy and found herself apologizing last year (in the form of a Hollywood Reporter guest-editor letter) for defending a Girls writer who was accused of sexually assaulting a teenager. Previously, she had claimed to hold insider information that she said would prove the victim’s allegations to be untrue, and all of that history (including Dunham’s own disclosure of being raped at age 19) is resurfacing again. Here’s another photo of Lena leaning over to watch Pitt perform a fist-bump move with Tarantino.
On a not-unrelated note, Dunham appeared last October on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and related an anecdote about how she flashed her underwear at Pitt “between takes” while he was working on lines for this movie. She then stated that this happened for a non-sexual reason, which was to show other cast members her “kewpie doll” tattoo during a discussion about kewpie dolls. Dunham added that her publicist was not pleased and instructed her client not to show her underwear to Kimmel’s audience. Despite Dunham’s explanation, none of this presents a good look.
People are now incensed over this entire fiasco and pointing out the double standard involved. They’re concluding that a man who kissed a woman without consent on the red carpet would likely be accused of sexual misconduct, rather than people either laughing or saying that Dunham pulled a gutsy move (a few outlets have taken that perspective). Dunham’s tendency to fire off lengthy columns on these issues has not gone unmentioned on Twitter as well.
If Brad Pitt did to Margot Robbie what Lena Dunham did to him on the red carpet, Dunham would write a 3,000-word essay about consent
— Michelle Bruton (@MichelleBruton) August 1, 2019
I'm sorry but Lena Dunham just assaulted Brad Pitt and I'm unamused about the lack of narrative here https://t.co/JTMSiHB9Wy
— The Unmissable CJ ✨ (@CJPendragon) August 1, 2019
https://twitter.com/LawverSays/status/1156705737646755841
Just read an article about Lena Dunham "having balls" because she planted an unsolicited kiss on Brad Pitt. I'm gonna say if she DID have balls, the headline would read quite different. Assuming the words #metoo would be used. #DoubleStandards
— Jennifer Churchich 🦋 (@RealJenChurch) July 31, 2019
https://twitter.com/justkelly_ok/status/1156721849469767680
https://twitter.com/JoeBOBaHead/status/1156625279021797376
https://twitter.com/KawaiiSenpaiiH/status/1156930527703818241
Brad Pitt on the red carpet: pic.twitter.com/hhgBRC4JpX
— Evan Wintersteen (@evanwintersteen) August 2, 2019
Brad Pitt #metoo
— Marcin Kwaśniewski (@marcin_kwasny) August 2, 2019
Please don't sexually assault Brad Pitt.
— kekistaniite (@kekistaniite) August 2, 2019
Soooo…we can all agree that if the roles were reversed, Brad Pitt would be losing his career and people would be screaming #metoo, correct? https://t.co/KPgHgJJrAO
— Zachary Leeman (@WritingLeeman) July 31, 2019
It seems flippant to suggest that Dunham might be penning a response column as we speak, but there’s a good chance that it’s happening.