Girls star Lena Dunham lent some star power to Hillary Clinton’s candidacy on Tuesday, offering a sharp rebuke to Republican nominee Donald Trump at the Democratic national convention in Philadelphia.
She was joined by Ugly Betty actor America Ferrera, who took on Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric as an American born to Honduran parents.
“I’m America Ferrera and, according to Donald Trump, I’m probably a rapist,” Ferrera said, in a reference to Trump’s declaration when announcing his candidacy last year that most Mexican immigrants were “rapists” and “killers”.
“Donald’s not making America great again. He’s making America hate again,” Ferrera said.
Dunham similarly opted for a snarky introduction, invoking Trump’s derogatory comments toward women the crowd: “I’m Lena Dunham and, according to Donald Trump, I’m like a two.”
Both actors were early supporters of Clinton’s and stumped for her during the Democratic primary. Ferrera also backed Clinton in 2008 over Barack Obama.
Together, they were the latest in a string of celebrities who have taken the stage at the Democratic convention – many of whom rank as powerful women in an industry long dominated by men.
Earlier Elizabeth Banks came on stage in silhouette surrounded by dry ice, in mockery of Trump’s entrance to the Republican convention last week.
“Some of you know me from The Hunger Games, in which I play Effie Trinket – a cruel, out-of-touch reality TV star who wears insane wigs while delivering long-winded speeches to a violent dystopia,” she said. “So when I tuned in to Cleveland last week, I was like: ‘Hey, that’s my act.’”
Banks asked the crowd whether there were any women in the house. “Yeah. No duh. We’re half the population! We’re everywhere! And Hillary Clinton knows this,” Banks said.
Dunham and Ferrera acknowledged most voters might not care for the political opinions of Hollywood, but insisted the risks posed by a potential Trump presidency were too grave to remain silent.
Ticking off a list of pro-women policies, from equal pay for equal work to paid family leave and access to abortion, Dunham touted Clinton’s commitment to enacting proposals that would reduce America’s gender gap.
“[Trump’s] rhetoric takes us back to a time when women were expected to be beautiful and silent,” Dunham said.
Closing with Trump’s controversial remark that Clinton had only been successful by playing “the woman card”, Dunham and Ferrera concluded with what has become the Democratic nominee’s anthem on the stump.
“As Hillary Clinton says: deal us in.”
