Grant Lamos IV/Getty Images; Jason LaVeris/FilmMagicIf Miley wants to be Miley, that's her choice, says Lena Dunham.
The 29-year-old Girls creator and star and feminist mentioned Miley Cyrus, 23, while talking about women's choices in an interview with Refinery29, posted Wednesday.
In 2014, Dunham had tweeted, "Part of being a feminist is giving other women the space to make choices you don't necessarily agree with."
When asked about her quote, she told Refinery29, "That statement only goes so far. It doesn't go so far as to excuse things that I don't think work within the historical and political definition of what feminism is. When girls say, 'Hey, Miley Cyrus' hot pants are not feminist.' Maybe they are for her, and maybe they're not for you. Part of the deal is that she wants to wear hot pants, and you want to wear slacks."
Dunham appears to be a fan of Cyrus, who has often showcased far less than hot pants in her Instagram selfies. In 2012, after the singer got a blonde pixie cut, the actress debuted a short hairstyle of her own, saying on Instagram, "I Miley'd the s--t out of this Saturday."
In 2013, when the pop star began to showcase a racier public image, Dunham tweeted, "Miley Cyrus' 'We Can't Stop' makes me feel nonsensically nostalgic with a heaping side of 'f--k all y'all.'"
Missing Miley and that's no joke
? Lena Dunham (@lenadunham) January 27, 2014
@MileyCyrus Thank youuuu! Between your mama, Stevie Wonder and mystery novelist Daphne Dumaurier I feel very lucky
? Lena Dunham (@lenadunham) May 14, 2014
Dunham had also posted on Instagram a video showing her playfully swatting Girls co-star Jemima Kirke, 30, on the butt as she sings "We Can't Stop."
"The biggest things are when a girl says about another girl, 'She's not respecting herself sexually. She's looking for love in all the wrong places,'" Dunham told Refinery29. "You don't get to decide that. You don't get to decide what a feminist looks and acts like. That said, I do reserve the right to not honor it if a woman throwing tomatoes at people outside an abortion clinic wants to call herself a feminist. I don't have to indulge that."
HBO's Girls occasionally shows the dark sides of relationships, which include moments where a woman has felt she has lost her power. Dunham's character, Hannah, has often been disrespected by her on-again, off-again boyfriend Adam, played by Star Wars: The Force Awakens' Adam Driver. The two have taken part in controversial sex scenes on the show, which often depicts nudity, including from the actress.
"My goal isn't always to show sex that's necessarily feminist or empowering," Dunham told Refinery29. "It's to show sex that feels real. My early 20s were very much defined by sexual encounters that were often ill-advised and didn't always make me feel that great about myself. That was something I wanted to look at in the show, because I know I'm not the only woman who feels that way."
Season five of Girls will premiere on HBO on Feb. 21. The sixth and final season will air in 2017.
"I hope to reprise some of her nudity in this final season with vigor," Dunham said.