An ambiguously worded tweet has prompted speculation that Lena Dunham is leaving Girls.
Dunham, who created and stars in the HBO show, started a flurry of activity among fans on Twitter after seemingly suggesting she would be leaving her character Hannah Horvath behind after the show's fifth season.
"Done playing Hannah for the fifth season of Girls," Dunham tweeted. "52 episodes down and I feel like we're starting to look alike."
Done playing Hannah for the fifth season of Girls. 52 episodes down and I feel like we're starting to look alike.
— Lena Dunham (@lenadunham) July 30, 2015
While the focus of the tweet should have been the joke in the second sentence, the first (fragmented) sentence of Dunham's tweet has caused confusion.
Some Girls fans reading the tweet were quick to make the following - and, if correct, quite newsworthy - semantic connection:
Sentence fragment: Done playing Hannah for the fifth season of Girls.
Interpretation: I am done playing Hannah on Girls. Season five will be my last.
Fans of the show who read the tweet in this way were not too pleased.
@lenadunham Don't get any ideas. Hannah has more things to reveal out of her diary!!!!
— Jacques Derosena (@jacquesderosena) July 31, 2015
@lenadunham wait... is girls ending?!
— jack sheppard (@jack_sheppard14) July 30, 2015
@lenadunham nooooo, I hope we still have more, I love hanna
— Carmen Morales (@8319Maria) July 31, 2015
However, there is an obvious second meaning to the first half of the tweet, which is substantially less alarming:
Sentence fragment: Done playing Hannah for the fifth season of Girls.
Interpretation #2: I have just finished filming the fifth season of Girls, on which I played the show's lead, Hannah. This sentence does not cast any light on my future involvement with the show, which could be just as it was before.
And, let's not even get started on the third meaning no one has dared to utter ...
Sentence fragment: Done playing Hannah for the fifth season of Girls.
Interpretation #3: Australian artist Ken Done will be playing Hannah on the fifth season of Girls.
What a plot twist.
Dunham has been playing aspiring writer Hannah Horvath on Girls since 2012.
Speaking to Variety in April, Dunham said she doubted the show would extend beyond six seasons.
"I think America has a tendency to push shows past their due dates," she said, explaining that HBO had only ever spoken to her about six seasons of the show.
"I like the British model - in and out."
Dunham is yet to clarify her statement on Twitter.
