Report: Lena Dunham Isn't Paying Performers On Her Book Tour

Lena Dunham created, writes for and stars in HBO's hit comedy "Girls." Her estimated annual income is around $6 million.

And yet, the New York Times reports that Dunham isn't paying her warm-up acts on her national book tour.

Something doesn't quite add up here.

Dunham is embarking soon on a 12-city tour to promote her new book, "Not That Kind of Girl." Dunham already made headlines when her publisher gave her an advance of $3.7 million for the book, based solely on her merit as the creator of "Girls."

Now, Dunham has cast a number of performers, from comedians to storytellers to musicians, to open up for her on the tour after a round of open call auditions. The problem is, Dunham isn't paying any of them.

From the Times:

"The seven who made the final cut won't be making cameos in 'Girls,' Ms. Dunham's HBO show about Brooklyn 20-somethings. Instead, they'll be the warm-up acts — performing free of charge — on an elaborately produced, 11-city tour to promote Ms. Dunham's new book, 'Not That Kind of Girl.' "

The worst part is, it's not like Dunham is doing anything out of the ordinary. Performers, writers and artists are asked to work for "exposure" in lieu of pay all the time.

Yet some who signed up don't seem to mind at all. Gawker spoke with one of them, a comedian by the name of Caroline Bassett.

"I'm fine with not being paid because of the circumstances surrounding the event — I essentially volunteered by applying," Bassett said. "I have a chance to work with someone whom I respect and who's highly accomplished, which is rare for someone at my level. It'll be a unique addition to my credits. That's plenty, and on top of that, I get to tell jokes aimed at Christian Mingle and the Church of Latter Day Saints in a chapel full of Austin women. Heaven on Earth. I don't really understand why people are getting upset about it on my behalf."

Still, as someone who wrote a show about a struggling writer, you would think that Dunham could at least pony up the cash for minimum wage, especially considering the fact that tickets for the tour have raised over $300,000 on their own.