Many of you probably heard about last week's statements from actress Lena Dunham about NFL star Odell Beckham Jr. In case you missed it, the fallout began when Lena Dunham sat down with her friend Amy Schumer and talked about her first impressions after being seated with OBJ at the Met Gala. "I was sitting next to Odell Beckham Jr., and it was so amazing because it was like he looked at me and he determined I was not the shape of a woman by his standards. He was like, 'That's a marshmallow. That's a child. That's a dog.' It wasn't mean — he just seemed confused."

Dunham then went on to add that OBJ clearly was not attracted to her after seeing she was a wearing a tuxedo and bowtie. "It was like we were forced to be together, and he literally was scrolling Instagram rather than have to look at a woman in a bow tie. I was like, 'This should be called the Metropolitan Museum of Getting Rejected by Athletes.'"

Despite often disagreeing with them, I couldn't help but have some admiration for the likes of Lena Dunham and Amy Schumer for all that they have done for women's rights. Over the past few months, it seems like Schumer's wage-gap Bud Light commercials are on every channel and just last year, Dunham and her Girls co-star Jennifer Konner launched Lenny Letter, a weekly online newsletter empowering women to have a platform to discuss topics of feminism. The site has helped many women, even women of color, shine light on important issues. Interestingly enough, Lenny Letter was the same site where Dunham and Schumer sat down to chat and Dunham gave her remarks on OBJ.

This was certainly not the first time Lena Dunham and Amy Schumer have been at the center of racist remarks. Schumer has been known for various racially-charged jokes. “I used to date Hispanic guys, but now I prefer consensual" she'd once tweeted and used another joke calling Mexican women "crazy." Then there was one of Dunham's tweets from 2010:

Just found my "creativity journal" from 2005. It begins: "I dreamed I was a prostitute and that I molested a little African American rodent"
— Lena Dunham (@lenadunham) March 7, 2010

Last year, Schumer took to Twitter saying, “Stick with me and trust me that I’m joking. I go in and out of playing an irreverent idiot. That includes making dumb jokes involving race …You can call it a 'blind spot for racism' or 'lazy' but you are wrong. It is a joke and it is funny … I am not going to start joking about safe material.”

Time and time again, Dunham and Schumer's supporters have given them a pass. And time and time again, I too have let it slide. I've been silent. I've kept scrolling past their remarks and the praising of their supporters. Why?

Oftentimes, I've struggled to find the best way to address these issues. There has to be a place to draw the line. Dunham felt perfectly open to selfishly rant and throw Beckham Jr. under the bus for not giving her attention. She then spun it in such a way that could still promote stereotypes of predatorial and misogynistic black males. What had Beckham done? Played on his cell phone instead of talking to her and suddenly he was the villain?

In a lengthy Instagram apology, Dunham writes, "I owe Odell Beckham Jr an apology. Despite my moments of bravado, I struggle at industry events (and in life) with the sense that I don't rep a certain standard of beauty and so when I show up to the Met Ball surrounded by models and swan-like actresses it's hard not to feel like a sack of flaming garbage. This felt especially intense with a handsome athlete as my dinner companion and a bunch of women I was sure he'd rather be seated with. "

She goes on to say, "But I went ahead and projected these insecurities and made totally narcissistic assumptions about what he was thinking, then presented those assumptions as facts. I feel terrible about it. Because after listening to lots of valid criticism, I see how unfair it is to ascribe misogynistic thoughts to someone I don't know AT ALL. "

Over the weekend, Beckham Jr. gave his response in an interview with Complex magazine, "I don't have enough information to really speak on it. We'll see what happens from there. I never want any problems with anybody in this world."

After taking a few days to digest what happened, I reflected on my own life. I wondered if this had ever happened to me? Obviously, I'm no NFL star, but I am a black male and with that are loaded stereotypes. One writer on Ebony.com wrote, "So while Dunham’s responsibility for her disgusting assertions about a highly visible Black man effectively ended with her hasty statement laden with apologetic buzz words, Black men and boys are still left to sift through the debris of her wreckage."

The truth is, Dunham and Schumer have a massive following that will ride with them regardless of these actions. If they truly believe in equality for all, and not just an equality that fits their agenda, they need to confront their own prejudice. I don't believe Dunham meant any harm with her statements, but there is a distinct difference in having those thoughts and feeling the need to then broadcast them on the internet. If she felt so uncomfortable sitting with OBJ or even attending the Met Gala to begin with, maybe it would have been wise to give some thought to those feelings.

The Mary Sue writer Keisha Hatchett wrote, "Still, I wish they understood the difference between joking about black people being lazy or sexually aggressive and a black comedian claiming white people love mayonnaise, because the former has real life implications. How many people of color have been maimed, killed or sexually assaulted because of said assumptions? And how many white people have been harmed because someone said their chicken was flavorless?

Hatchett continues, "For centuries, women of color have dealt with additional, separate obstacles and we really don’t need more white people speaking over us. So when Schumer and Dunham laugh off the offensive things they said, offer up an empty apology, or try to erase them via deleted tweets, they’re just sweeping their (intentional or not) racism under the rug until it rears its ugly head again."

The conversations around gender and racial equality are not always mutually exclusive. There is certainly a strong overlap in lives of African-American women who not only face gender-based discrimination, but also discrimination based on the color of their skin. Just ask actress Leslie Jones who was at the center of widespread internet attacks that included her website being hacked and twitter mobs comparing her to a gorilla, among many other horrendous things. Jones described the incident as "a personal hell" and rallied her supporters into action "Check them for their hate. Stop letting people get away with being ignorant. … Say something. Stop letting the ignorant people be the loud ones. … Be louder. I’m tired of everybody not believing they can change something. We are the people. We can change anything if we want."

So I've decided to speak up. There can be no place for this type of ignorance. If nothing else, I hope these recent events can be a timely reminder that all of us are facing a battle and spreading hate or striking down others will never bring us unity. If Lena Dunham truly wishes to be a trailblazer for equality, she might need to take a long look at where she stands.