Lena Dunham on Media’s Misogyny Over ‘Girls’: ‘People Were Angrier at Us for Giving Handjobs on TV Than They Were at Walter White or Tony Soprano’

Lena Dunham and Allison Williams are still getting used to people actually liking “Girls.”

“We are not used to the way people feel about the show now,” Dunham said during a conversation with Allison Williams at New York City’s Swarovski store on Thursday evening. “It’s a daily surprise.”

When “Girls” premiered in 2012, Dunham and her co-stars became frequent targets of criticism over everything from the show’s explicit sex scenes to its portrayal of privileged young women navigating their ’20s in New York City.

“I was saying that when the show came out, the way that people talked about our behavior — I was like, ‘People are angrier at us for just being girls who sometimes give hand jobs on TV than they are Walter White or Tony Soprano.'”

Allison added: “I don’t know how many people in the room watched it in real time, but if you didn’t, I’ve got to tell you something: We are not used to the way people feel about the show now.”

“There was a website called Gawker, which, fuck it forever,” Williams joked, referencing the now-defunct gossip blog notorious for its biting celebrity takedowns. “They referred to us as our dads’ daughters in the articles that covered the show. They didn’t even call us by our actual names.”

Now, ahead of the “Girls” revival, Dunham says “People are understanding, and people like the idea that young women would be naughty and complicated and weird and self-aware. They recognize that you could potentially be a woman under 25 and have some modicum of self-awareness.”

Dunham added that Williams was her first call — “before HBO, before anyone” — to ask about joining the revival. “It started with us and it ends with us!”

“And I was nervous when I called you because she’s a busy mom and producer and iconic Scream Queen and she might not want to return,” she added.

As reported earlier this month, HBO prepares to revive “Girls” for five episodes, with production scheduled to begin in 2027. Dunham will reprise her role as Hannah Horvath alongside Williams, Jemima Kirke as Jessa Johansson, Zosia Mamet as Shoshanna Shapiro and Andrew Rannells as Elijah Krantz. Judd Apatow will also return as executive producer.