The Lena Dunham Approach to Twitter Call-Outs
On Wednesday, Lena Dunham, the director, writer, and actor best known for the HBO series Girls, used her celebrity to draw attention to an exchange that offended her. In her telling, she was in the terminal at JFK airport in New York City, when she overheard two uniformed flight attendants engaging in a private conversation. “Not gonna call out the airline who delayed cuz shit happens BUT I did just overhear 2 @AmericanAir attendants having a transphobic talk,” she Tweeted to her 5.5 million followers. “At this moment in history we should be teaching our employees about love and inclusivity @AmericanAir. That was worst part of this night.”
The social media team at American Airlines responded, asking for more specific information, and Dunham proceeded to identify the gate where the event transpired. She then published a series of direct messages that she sent to the airline. “Hi!” she wrote. “I heard two female attendants walking talking about how trans kids are a
