Lena Waithe took to social media to respond to accusations that she stole the concept for her show “Girls Room” from Atlanta screenwriter Nina Lee. After the trailer was released last week, Lee called attention to the similarties between Waithe's work and her own. She also acknowledged that the storyline was the same. Waithe tweeted, “I was brought on to write the scripts and produce the content. I have never seen Nina Lee’s work nor would I ever steal another artist’s work. As a creative myself, I can only imagine how she must be feeling and I look to #Dove to give us more clarity on the situation.”
Dove partnered with Waithe on the show. They also released a statement, saying, “Dove started working on Girls Room with our partners in early 2017, and we’re proud to have teamed up with ATTN: and Lena Waithe to bring the vision to life. The name of the series was developed before Lena or ATTN: were added to the project and was selected because our scenes mainly take place in the ‘Girls Room,’ any similarity to other creative projects is entirely unintentional.”
Lee also spoke out on the situation, saying, “Even the way her show is colored is oddly similar, I have to laugh. Ours was fun as hell though cuz it was about the great drunk girls you meet (in) the girls restroom. And it extended out to their lives and how tough and rewarding navigating through life in your 20s can be.”