Ever since Lena Dunham first rose to fame at the age of 25 for her TV show Girls, she’s been subject to unsolicited commentary about her body. Dunham suffers from endometriosis, and has recently taken up yoga, healthy eating, and other workouts in an effort to better control her painful chronic illness.

As a result of this, she’s consequently lost a few pounds – and the critics are back out in full force. Speaking to Ellen DeGeneres on her show on Wednesday, Dunham said: “I also just never felt self-conscious about it. I was like: anyone who was going to take the time to say something negative about my weight on the Internet wasn't someone I was particularly keen to impress anyway”. 

Far from criticism letting up now that she’s slimmer, the Girls creator explained: “I had this experience of my body changing and suddenly I got all of these people being like, 'You're a hypocrite. I thought you were body-positive. I thought you were a person who embraces bodies of all sizes,'” she added, “I do, I just understand that bodies change, we live a long time. Things happen”, and that she’s come to the realisation that, “as a woman in Hollywood, you just can't win.”

In an Instagram post, Dunham addressed the criticism. She said, “I feel I've made it pretty clear over the years that I don't give even the tiniest of shits what anyone else feels about my body”, and, “I smile just as wide no matter my current size because I'm proud of what this body has seen and done and represented. Chronic illness sufferer. Body-shaming vigilante. Sexual assault survivor. Raging hottie. Just like all of YOU. Right now I'm struggling to control my endometriosis through a healthy diet and exercise. So my weight loss isn't a triumph and it also isn't some sign I've finally given in to the voices of trolls”.