Lena Dunham on "Terrible Mistake" Defending 'Girls' Writer; Joined by Brittany Perrineau | Women In Entertainment 2018 - video Dailymotion

Hollywood Journal

Lena Dunham, guest editor of the Women In Entertainment 2018 issue of The Hollywood Reporter, was joined by Brittany Perrineau on stage.

Transcript

00:00Hello, beautiful women of Hollywood, women of power, women of dignity and grace.

00:07It's an honor to serve as the grateful guest editor of this very special issue of The Hollywood Reporter.

00:12Viola's smile on that cover alone is reason enough for this issue to exist,

00:17but then beyond that, we have a giant, big guidebook to how to pursue power in this industry as a woman.

00:23I want to give a special shout-out to my newest bestie, Angela Trimber,

00:27who describes the process of fighting cancer while also fighting basic industry misogyny

00:32and finding that there's a cozy spot to land in a business that can feel so cold.

00:36I love you, Angela.

00:42I am under no illusions about why people ask me to do things.

00:47There's a hope that I'll say something fucking insane that inspires web traffic

00:51or show my breasts at an inappropriate time

00:55or call out a much-beloved Hollywood figure for no apparent reason.

00:59It's your time, Sherry Lansing.

01:04But my job as guest editor of this issue was a very different and much more profound task.

01:10It was to gather strong women around me who've inspired me to do better,

01:13and it was to do better myself.

01:16I'm standing here with my dear friend, Brittany Perrineau.

01:18I admire Brittany.

01:21I love her.

01:23I laugh with her.

01:25But this relationship was unexpected and unforeseen because a year ago,

01:29last November, when Brittany's beautiful daughter, Aurora,

01:32accused a friend of mine of sexual assault, I denied her experience publicly.

01:36That will always be my greatest regret,

01:39but with Brittany and Aurora's love, forgiveness, and bravery,

01:42it's become my greatest moment of evolution and education.

01:46I learned to listen.

01:48I learned the ways in which my own heart and mind had been colonized by patriarchy

01:52and the ways my own ignorance operated, even as a survivor of multiple sexual assaults.

01:58Brittany taught me that at 32 years old,

02:00it's time to embrace the real shit and put my big girl pants on.

02:03And through it all, she remained a model of compassion and strength,

02:08fighting for her child the way we should all be fighting for each other in this business and beyond.

02:14And so I want to publicly thank her and say to my friend Aurora,

02:18we are here for you, and we hear you,

02:21and the other women who share your experience.

02:33I'm going to go off script a little bit here because I am not a public figure

02:41and I'm not comfortable speaking here,

02:44but I wanted to.

02:46Selena, thank you for your words.

02:49As we grow into our best selves,

02:51we must occupy those scary spaces that lead us to greatness.

02:55You are bravely sitting in that space.

02:58You hurt us.

02:59What you said was hurtful, denying survivors like you.

03:03Me, and Aurora, and millions of others.

03:07But it also showed how we are trained to blindly support perpetrators of terror

03:11because they have to be right, right?

03:14Please know that we feel your love,

03:16and we receive your heartfelt apology.

03:19We could not be more proud.

03:27We could not be more proud of the empowered inspiration that Aurora is to me,

03:31her sisters, and girls and women around the world.

03:35And again, I'd just like to go off script for one second and say that I think that forgiveness is a powerful thing.

03:41And I think that we need to redirect our anger at the perpetrators of these heinous assaults.

03:46So many of you in this room have helped to guide us,

03:51and we just want to say thank you from the bottom of our hearts for everybody that stood up for our child.

03:56Thank you, Brittany.

04:04I love you so, so much.

04:06And it's thrilling and appropriate, then, that we are introducing the one and only Monica Lewinsky,

04:12whose own experience has been so clouded by people's inability to comprehend nuance, gray areas,

04:17and that people we have loved can do things that we don't like at all.

04:22But Monica—believe me, I'm not talking about Monica.

04:24But Monica has never stopped fighting, and her latest fight to stop the plague that is bullying

04:29is one I'm proud to be a small part of.

04:31Let's give a hand for a woman who rises again and again,

04:34who refuses to allow labels and preconceptions to prevent her from using her big, beautiful voice.

04:39Ladies and several gentlemen, please welcome Monica fucking Lewinsky.

04:43Bye-bye.

Lena Dunham on "Terrible Mistake" Defending 'Girls' Writer; Joined by Brittany Perrineau | Women In Entertainment 2018

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