Lena Dunham: Famesick, with Dolly Alderton (Part One)

In this live episode of Intelligence Squared, Lena Dunham, acclaimed writer and creator of 'Girls,' engages in a candid and emotionally charged conversation with author Dolly Alderton at London's Hackney Empire. Dunham reflects on her new memoir, 'Fame Sick,' exploring the personal cost of fame, the complexities of sobriety, and the psychological toll of public scrutiny. Drawing from vivid anecdotes—including setting herself on fire in a London hotel room while sober, a moment of raw vulnerability that symbolizes her struggle with identity and trauma—Dunham reveals how creativity and self-destruction often coexist. The discussion deepens into generational dynamics, the performative nature of social media, and the emotional labor of being a woman in the public eye. Alderton, in turn, shares her own journey as an agony aunt, reflecting on how writing advice became a form of emotional survival. Together, they interrogate the ethics of memoir, the myth of the 'perfect breakup,' and the societal pressure to move on quickly from loss, ultimately affirming that healing is not linear and that vulnerability, when shared with honesty and self-awareness, can be revolutionary.