Girls Slammed by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: "They're All Educated but Fatally Ignorant"

NBA Hall of Famer dissects what's wrong with the well-intentioned HBO series in a column for the Huffington Post

By Natalie Finn Feb 01, 2013 3:13 AMTags
Zosia Mamet, Lena Dunham, Jemima Kirke, Allison Williams, Kareem Abdul-JabbarJohn Shearer, Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage

Lena Dunham, be forewarned. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is watching.

The NBA Hall of Famer and apparent avid TV watcher took to Huffington Post today to detail what he believes to be the most glaring flaws of the HBO comedy Girls, including, in his eyes, a forced attempt to insert a black character into the largely white action and that rampant self-involvement doesn't necessarily equate with cuteness.

All in all, Girls—which has been renewed for a third season—just doesn't measure up to late, great shows like My So-Called Life and Wonderfalls, according to Abdul-Jabbar (who, by the way, is welcome at our roundtable discussions anytime).

"A black dildo would have sufficed and cost less," the 65-year-old basketball legend wrote, zinging the show for introducing Donald Glover as a love interest for Dunham's Hannah, seemingly at the behest of critics who complained the show was too white.

"I don't believe that people of color, sexual preference, or gender need to be shaken indiscriminately into every series like some sort of exotic seasoning. If the story calls for a black character, great...But this really seemed like an effort was made to add some color—and it came across as forced."

And while the show's "heart and mind are in the right place," Abdul-Jabbar wrote, it takes itself too seriously and forgets to just be funny.

The characters' "intense self-involvement is meant to be cute and it can be...at times," he wrote. "But not enough to overcome our impatience with their inability to have any personal insight. They're all educated but fatally ignorant."

In fact, Abdul-Jabbar thinks that the guys, especially Adam Driver's Adam, are more interesting than the girls.

Dare we say, the former Lakers center makes some good...points.

And, if Dunham's track record at handling slights is any indicator, we bet the criticism will just bounce right off of her.