Lisa Lampanelli Defends Calling Lena Dunham the N-Word: It Means "Friend!"

USMagazine, Wednesday, February 20, 2013, 9:30am (PST)

The only C-word that Lisa Lampanelli is offended by is "censor." The outspoken comedienne caused a ruckus online after tweeting a photo of herself with Girls creator Lena Dunham and the caption: "Me with my n---a @LenaDunham of @HBOGirls - I love this beyotch!"

Users instantly jumped on Lampanelli's word choice, calling her out for using the derogatory term in the tweet on Sunday, Feb. 17.

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"I'm pretending this never happened," one user wrote. "I'm tired of her trolling all of Twitter and the world. *runs away*"

The 51-year-old insult comic wasn't fazed by the criticisms, however. In an interview with the Huffington Post, Lampanelli defended her use of the word, explaining that people were blowing the situation way out of proportion.

"The N-word ending in 'er' is far different context from the word ending in 'a.' Ask any person who knows the urban dictionary, it means 'friend,'" she said. "And by the way, if I had put the word ending in 'er,' that would have been a very derogatory thing about Lena meaning she is less than me, and I view her as very above me."

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The women initially met up at the Writers Guild Awards Sunday, where Lampanelli said Dunham, 26, approached her and the pair shared their mutual respect for one another's work.

"She was so sweet and I swear to you, I'm the biggest fan of Girls in the world, and I just tweeted out our picture," she told the Huffington Post. "And that's controversial; enjoy, people."

The Celebrity Apprentice alum has frequently found herself in hot water over her use of racist slurs, and the comedienne didn't appear to take this latest episode to be a huge deal either.

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"I have been using these words since I started in comedy and guess what, people? I won't stop anytime soon, just because your ass is up on Twitter," she said. "I have always used in my act every racial slur there is for Asians, blacks, gays, and Hispanics. To me, it's acceptable if the joke is funny and if it is said in a context of no hate."

The comedienne even took to her Twitter to give her haters a proper online response, referencing another recent incident of reported racism.

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"Glad 2 have given u something other than Alec Baldwin to talk about on my day off!" she wrote. "Thanks, Twitterverse!"

Baldwin, 54, was accused of using a racist slur against a New York Post photographer earlier this week. The 30 Rock actor denied any wrongdoing, however, telling TMZ that the allegation "is one of the most outrageous things I've heard in my life."

This article originally appeared on Usmagazine.com: Lisa Lampanelli Defends Calling Lena Dunham the N-Word: It Means "Friend!"