--- title: Lena Dunham Loves Shonda Rhimes: Jimmy Kimmel Live! description: The Girls actress told Kimmel she had been trying to land a role on Scandal for a while before Rhimes decided there was a part for her. canonical: https://time.com/4067871/lena-dunham-shonda-rhimes-jimmy-kimmel-live/ author: Megan McCluskey article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-10-09T15:00:10.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:25:47.449Z og:title: Lena Dunham Says She Loved Being Murdered On 'Scandal' og:description: Caution: old 'Scandal' spoilers from last season ahead og:url: https://time.com/4067871/lena-dunham-shonda-rhimes-jimmy-kimmel-live/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Lena Dunham Says She Loved Being Murdered On 'Scandal' twitter:description: Caution: old 'Scandal' spoilers from last season ahead twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Lena Dunham Tells Jimmy Kimmel She Loved Being Murdered On _Scandal_ > Sponsored content. 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Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=145185e4-ee14-4b6d-b36a-4b616d008774&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1)  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Oct 9, 2015 3:00 PM UTC  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Oct 9, 2015 3:00 PM UTC Lena Dunham appeared on Thursday night’s episode of _Jimmy Kimmel Live!_ to talk about her love for Shonda Rhimes and her family’s reaction to her role on the ABC drama. The _Girls_ actress told Kimmel she had been trying to land a role on _Scandal_ for a while before Rhimes decided there was a part that was right for her. “I offered myself to Shonda multiple times and then finally there was something that was appropriate for me,” Dunham explained. “Which was this role of a whore who gets murdered.” Dunham also revealed that staying on good terms with Rhimes is one of her top priorities. “I’m literally more afraid of speaking words that Shonda hasn’t permitted me to speak than I would be like if Barack Obama shared a secret with me,” she said. When Kimmel asked Dunham how she felt seeing herself get murdered, she said, “I loved it. I was fascinated by the entire thing.” Her family, however, had mixed feedback. 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