Crime three: Dunham says awkward things, ranging from the socially inept to the outright offensive. Some contradict her claims to be feminist and others are pretty insensitive. These are grave charges to bring against an elected representative, the head of a hospital trust or an on-duty school teacher. They’d probably be sacked. But a comedy writer? The tribe known for being unable to make eye contact and saying terrible things to your grandmother when accidentally seated next to her at a wedding? The profession that accommodates Frankie Boyle, Jimmy Carr, Russell Brand, Sarah Silverman and Sacha Baron Cohen? It seems unreasonable to insist those who write provocative things for a living never to provoke anyone. Dunham has given us one of the best US sitcoms of the last 10 years. Who cares if she’s a good person?

Why is Dunham really being singled out? It’s not a difficult one to solve. Ask a young person what they want to do when they grow up and the most popular answer is no longer “marine biologist” or “pop star”, but “writer”. You can bet a chunk of those could narrow that down to “comedy writer” or even “having my own six-season sitcom about me and my friends, starring me”. Dunham doesn’t look like an untouchable Hollywood goddess – she looks like most people who want what she has. It makes them wonder: why wasn’t that me?