Lena Dunham Says Brand She Worked With Used Her Design To Fat-Shame Women

There was mass online outrage yesterday after clothing brand Revolve released a sweater with the slogan ‘FAT IS NOT BEAUTIFUL, IT’S AN EXCUSE’.

Loads of commentators including plus-size model Tess Holliday blasted the brand on social media and many promised to boycott them because of their fat-shaming beliefs.

https://twitter.com/Tess_Holliday/status/1039903581426438145?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1039903581426438145&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tmz.com%2F2018%2F09%2F13%2Frevolve-fat-is-not-beautiful-sweatshirt-lena-dunham%2F

Well, in a shocking turn of events that literally nobody saw coming, Lena Dunham has taken responsibility for the sweater, revealing that she was the one who came up with the slogan in collaboration with the brand but apparently they took her idea and marketed it the wrong way.

Taking to Instagram, the actress revealed that the meaning behind the slogan is to address the “trolling & abuse” that plus-size women cop everyday on the internet.

“For months I’ve been working on a collaboration with my friend Pia’s company LPA through parent company @revolve – sweatshirts that highlight quotes from prominent women who have experienced internet trolling & abuse,” she writes.

“This is a cause very close to my heart and the proceeds were meant to benefit charities that help young women by empowering them to express themselves through writing and art.”

She goes on to say that the brand altered her idea by having “thin white women” model the clothing, thus disempowering the message that she was trying to convey.

“Without consulting me or any of the women involved, @revolve presented the sweatshirts on thin white women, never thinking about the fact that difference and individuality is what gets you punished on the Internet, or that lack of diversity in representation is a huge part of the problem (in fact, the problem itself.) As a result, I cannot support this collaboration or lend my name to it in any way. This isn’t meant to shame Pia or the great work she’s done with LPA. I am deeply disappointed in @revolve’s handling of a sensitive topic and a collaboration rooted in reclaiming the words of internet trolls to celebrate the beauty in diversity and bodies and experiences that aren’t the industry norm.”

Adding, “I’d like to especially extend my love and support to @palomija, whose quote was the first to be promoted and mangled. She’s a hero of mine. Like me, she gave her quote in good faith and shared her vulnerability in order to support arts education and to spread her message of empowerment, and she wasn’t consulted in the marketing. Not an ounce of negativity should be sent her way.”

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