What happened to Lena Dunham after Girls? Actress makes rare public appearance after stepping away from several projects

Lena Dunham has been away from fame for quite a long time. Recently, the director and writer decided to make a public appearance after opting out of a number of projects.

The creator of HBO's acclaimed series Girls appeared at the occasion of the Trans Day of Visibility on Sunday, March 31, at a rally celebration. Hosted by the Christopher Street Project, the rally was organized in Washington D.C., where Dunham addressed allies and advocates.

Dunham briefed her audience about the Christopher Street Project. She said that the organization leverages and builds political power with the motive of making equity a reality for transgender people. Along with Dunham, many influential personalities such as Catherine Clark, Maxwell Frost, Val Hoyle, Robin Kelly, Sara Jacobs, and Summer Lee also spoke at the rally.

Dunham's last public appearence was in September 2024.

After the premiere of Girls in 2012, Dunham decided to steer away from the spotlight.

She told People Magazine in an interview that her years away from the spotlight were the most peaceful years of her life.

“I am so lucky in that the last years have been, I would argue, the most peaceful of my life."

Dunham told People Magazine. She also mentioned that she would not act in her semi-autobiographical Netflix series Too Much after her body was scrutinized when she gained popularity with Girls. The director decided to cast Megan Stalter instead. Dunham was also caught in a child abuse controversy, which further drove her away from the spotlight around a decade ago.

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All we know about Dunham's child abuse controversy

In 2014, Dunham was caught up in a controversy due to a childhood scene mentioned in her book Not That Kind of Girl. A right-leaning political site accused her of child molestation. Though it is important to note that child psychologists have called the incident described in the book innocent.

While right-wing political sites accused Dunham of child molestation due to a scene in her book in which she was a child, left-wing feminists criticized Dunham for glossing over abuse and utilizing her white woman privilege to shield her actions.

Right-wing website Truth Revolt quoted a passage from Dunham's newly released book on October 29 with the headline: "Lena Dunham Describes Sexually Abusing Her Little Sister," as per an article by Vox. The quoted passage was about Dunham looking at her younger sister's vagina. Also, while Dunham had mentioned being seven at the time of the incident, Truth Revolt claimed she was seventeen at the time.

When the allegations reached their peak, Grace Dunham, Lena Dunham's younger sister, took to the social media site X (formerly Twitter) to support her sister.

"Heteronormativity deems certain behaviours harmful, and others "normal"; the state and media are always invested in maintaining that" Dunham wrote on her X account.

Grace suggested that Lena was being unfairly judged by society and that society was putting her sister on trial.

"As a queer person: i'm committed to people narrating their own experiences, determining for themselves what has and has not been harmful." Grace posted on her X account, thus concluding her statement.

Lena has mentioned that due to people scrutinizing her body and the controversy surrounding her, she decided to stay away from any kind of public appearances for several years.