Lena Dunham Apologizes for Making Allison Williams Sing 'Fast Car' onGirls: 'It's Not Going to Be a Big Deal'

Mar. 15, 2025

Photo:Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty

Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty

Lena Dunhamwill always sing the praises of herGirlscostarAllison Williams— or apologize, as needed, for making Williams sing.

Nearly seven years after Williams' character Marnie Michaels had a little road trip karaoke moment toTracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” in the HBO show’s finale, its creator and star admitted toVarietythat she never imagined that these kinds of cringe-worthy moments would inspire long-lasting memes.

“I love that Allison would constantly say when we were shootingGirls, ‘Oh my God, are you really going to make me sing this? This is so embarrassing,'" recalled Dunham, 37. “And I’d be like, ‘It’s not going to be a big deal.’”

She continued, “And then those are the things that become memes for the next 20 years. So I’m sorry, Allison.”

Mark Schafer/HBO/courtesy Everett Collection

The clip of Marnie singing “Fast Car” recently resurfaced onsocial mediaafter Chapman, 59, joinedLuke Combsat the2024 Grammy Awards— where his cover wasnominatedfor best country solo performance — for amoving duetof Chapman’s 1988 breakout single.

In the finale’s opening scene, Marnie was driving her best friend Hannah (Dunham) and Hannah’s sleeping newborn Grover to upstate New York. Marnie’s attempt to drum up a friendly sing-along fell flat, with Hannah begging her, “I’m asking you to stop, and I’m asking in a nice way.”

After several pleas, Hannah finally yelled, “Turn it off!” Once Marnie silenced the radio, Grover began to bawl.

“I will credit her for some of the lyric changes in that,” revealed Dunham, referring to Marnie’s well-intentioned yet tone-deaf switch to “You can be my white Kate Moss tonight.”

“We’re very grateful to Allison,” she said.

Dunham’s also appreciative ofGirls' renewed popularity thanks to Gen Z viewers — a resurgence she admits has been “crazy and wild and not something I expected.” She added, “I see your TikTok mashups. I feel grateful for them, even though I’m technologically incompetent and not really on Instagram. I’m getting the love and it’s very felt and appreciated.”

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source: people.com