Lena Dunham‘s upcoming TV show is facing criticism for using real dead cats on set.
The HBO Max series Generation, which Lena is executive producing, had actors dissect cat corpses during a scene that takes place in a high school biology class, according to a Variety report published Tuesday, Feb. 9. The network later confirmed the incident and said two of the extras left because of their discomfort.
Lena was not on set because she is in London directing the movie Catherine, Called Bird, starring Fleabag‘s Andrew Scott.
After social media users and animal rights activists became outraged, the Girls alum gave a statement to Variety to explain the issue.
Lena said, “I am committed in my life and work to the principled, humane and ethical treatment of animals. I don’t use animal cadavers in any of my work, ever, and I was not on set or aware that they were used in a recently shot scene depicting a biology classroom assignment.”
