Lena Dunham, Amy Schumer, Tracee Ellis Ross and More Are ‘The Hollywood Reporter’ Comedy Queens

Lena Dunham, Amy Schumer, Ellie Kemper, Kate McKinnon, Gina Rodriguez and Tracee Ellis Ross cover the latest issue of The Hollywood Reporter as the “A-list Hollywood actresses” of comedy and talk sexism, sex scenes, penis bags, why women need to stop apologizing, and more as they sit down for a real round table discussion about comediennes.

Lena Dunham, 29, Girls, on sex scenes: “I stopped wearing the nude patch after the first season of Girls. There’s not one guy who works on that show who hasn’t seen the inside of my vagina. I never understand when people say, “Sex scenes are so mechanical; it doesn’t feel like anything.” It feels like someone f—ing you! It’s confusing.”

Amy Schumer, 34, Inside Amy Schumer, on mortifying stand up moment: “I was opening for [comedian] Dave Attell at an Improv in Washington, D.C., and was walking past the White House. This woman came up to me; she had kind eyes. I’m like, “She’s a fan!” I was like, “I’m a comedian,” and she goes, “These people are on a hunger strike; would you perform for them?” I then noticed there were 40 people there with signs showing how long it’d been since they’d eaten. I called some friends, and I was like, “I shouldn’t do this, right? [Comedian] Jim Norton was like, “You gotta take the gig.” (Laughs.) So I tried to write hunger-strike jokes. These people looked like everyone in The Exodus.”

Gina Rodriguez, 30, Jane the Virgin, on avoiding stereotypical roles: “I remove myself instantly if something’s perpetuating a stereotype. But the only way to stop stereotypes is to say, “I’m going to wait for a journey that suits me.”

Photo: The Hollywood Reporter

Ellie Kemper, 35, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, on racial stereotypes on her show: “Yeah, there was some criticism about how our show dealt with race, and maybe [that character] was stereotypical. But I’ll shove off that question by saying I’m not in the writers room. (Laughs.) But Kimmy doesn’t end up with the white man. She ends up with Asian Dong!”

Tracee Ellis Ross, 42, Black-ish, on working on Girlfriends: “Being on a show run by a woman with four women leads gives you a template that when you walk out into the world, you don’t see it. It changed my expectations.”

Kate McKinnon, 31, Saturday Night Live, on playing Hilary Clinton: “I do feel pressure. I’m rooting for her, obviously. It’s a combination of the writers’ take on her but also this contrast between a woman so driven and hardened by her experiences — She needs this! The country needs this! — and this sweetie granny from the Midwest. The juxtaposition.”

To read the full interview pick up the June 5 issue or visit THR website. Watch some clips from The Hollywood Reporter round table discussion below and share your thoughts in the comments.

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Photo: The Hollywood Reporter