Lena Dunham's speech at Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's wedding rehearsal dinner on Thursday has drawn criticism. The actress and writer reportedly quipped, "American football is just straight guys reenacting gay porn," in reference to Kelce's profession as an NFL player.
The event took place inside Madison Square Garden's Infosys Theater in New York City. According to an insider, the "joke" received a mixed reception from attendees, which included NFL players and other sports stars. Swift, who was a bridesmaid at Dunham's 2021 wedding, reportedly called her friend "a genius" following the speech.
Dunham, known for her role in the HBO series "Girls," has been involved in previous controversies. In 2015, she drew criticism for an analogy comparing sexual assault allegations against Bill Cosby to the Holocaust, later acknowledging it "wasn't my best." She also faced backlash for remarks made on her podcast "Women of the Hour" about abortion, stating she wished she had had one, which she later apologized for, calling it a "distasteful joke."
The wedding festivities, rumored to have cost $50 million, included a Friday evening soiree described as "Alice in Wonderland meets The Wizard of Oz." Other events were part of the celebration, which took place over several days. Signage outside Madison Square Garden displayed "JUST&T MARRIED" after the couple exchanged vows.
The couple reportedly made donations totaling $26 million to various charities, including food banks and children's hospitals, in an effort to offset the impact of the event. However, the extensive security measures and street closures in midtown Manhattan caused disruptions for local residents and businesses, with questions raised about the use of taxpayer-funded police resources.
Guests received custom-made handkerchiefs featuring the couple's intertwined "T" logo, embroidered with the opening lyric from Swift's 2014 song "Blank Space": "So it's gonna be forever..." The subsequent line in the song is, "Or it's going to go down in flames."