By Zoe Papadakis | Tuesday, 14 April 2026 12:55 PM EDT
Lena Dunham has alleged that her former “Girls” co-star Adam Driver exhibited volatile behavior on set, including throwing a chair and punching a wall.
The claims emerged as Dunham promotes her new memoir, “Famesick,” and were detailed in an interview.
In the memoir, Dunham describes Driver, who portrayed Adam Sackler—the on-again, off-again boyfriend of her character Hannah Horvath—during their time working together as “spectacularly rude.”
Among the incidents she recounts, Dunham writes that Driver once hurled a chair at a wall near her. She also alleges he punched a hole in his trailer wall and would scream directly in her face.
Reflecting on the events, Dunham stated she did not feel equipped to address the behavior at the time despite being the show’s creator and showrunner. “At the time, I didn’t have the skill to … it never entered my mind to say, ‘I am your boss, you can’t speak to me this way,’” she said.
“And, at that point in my 20s, I still thought that’s what great male geniuses do: eviscerate you. Which is weird, because I was raised by a male genius who would never do that,” she added in reference to her father, painter Carroll Dunham.
While the memoir details these allegations, Dunham also highlighted positive working relationships throughout her career. “Judd [Apatow] is a great hero of mine; Tim Bevan at Working Title is a huge part of my life and so is cinematographer Sam Levy,” she said in the interview. “I just worked with Mark Ruffalo, the most thoughtful, sensitive, politically engaged, beautiful person.”
“Girls,” which aired on HBO from 2012 to 2017, followed a group of women navigating their 20s in New York City. The series starred Allison Williams, Jemima Kirke, and Zosia Mamet alongside Dunham, with Driver appearing throughout all six seasons.
Driver, for his part, spoke positively about the show during its early run. In a 2012 interview, he praised the creative environment and Dunham’s work. “Lena’s characters—especially her female characters—are so three-dimensional and never seem in any way stereotypical, which was amazing to be a part of,” he said.
He described the set as collaborative, adding, “It was such a collaborative group of people on set that you couldn’t ask for better circumstances. It was just so open and young.”
He also complimented Dunham directly, stating she had “insight beyond her years” and added, “She’s also perpetually happy, which is awesome to be around—having her in the room is really the best scenario if you’re gonna spend that much time being really intimate with someone.”
