Actress and writer Lena Dunham called out President Donald Trump in tweets Monday, including one in which she compared him to Dylann Roof, the man convicted in the 2015 mass shooting in a predominantly African American church in Charleston, S.C.
The tweet came in response to a thread by comedian and “Full Frontal” writer Travon Free, who was questioning how CNN and other members of the media identify a racist.
“I’ll end this by trying to help every journalist and analyst in America: @realDonaldTrump is a racist. Feel free to take it from there,” he wrote.
That’s when Dunham stepped in.
“Not only is he a racist but he’s a racist with untreated mental illness. So under diff circumstances he’s Dylann Roof,” Dunham’s tweet read.
Not only is he a racist but he's a racist with untreated mental illness. So under diff circumstances he's Dylann Roof.
— Lena Dunham (@lenadunham) September 25, 2017
Roof, who is white, in 2015, killed nine members of Charleston’s Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, which is predominantly African American. He was convicted of 33 federal hate crime charges and was sentenced to death.
Dunham followed up her comments with a thread condemning the president for his remarks attacking athletes those who protested during the national anthem at sports games.
“I’m not an NBA player, I’m just some random white girl on cable reruns, and since the election the violence in my feed has been terrifying,” she wrote. “Imagine their national stage, the abuse they know they’ll get for doing the right thing and the fact that they do it anyway? True applause.”
Trump has come under fire from multiple sides since Friday, when he tweeted that NFL players who kneel during the national anthem should be fired. He doubled down on that point of view over the weekend. This has triggered mass protests from across the league and comments from coaches and team owners.
Dunham is one of many Hollywood celebrities that have spoken out against the president’s comments.