The ‘Girls’ team flashes naked anger

PASADENA — Lena Dunham, writer and star of HBO’s “Girls,” remained cool and reasonably civil when a male writer during a Television Critics Association panel here asked her why “your character is often naked (inset r.) at random times for no reason.”

Dunham’s fellow creators weren’t nearly so diplomatic.

“It’s a realistic expression of what it’s like to be alive,” Dunham responded. “If you are not into me, that’s your problem and you are going to have to kind of work that out.”

At this point, an obviously infuriated executive producer Judd Apatow jumped in to fire back at the questioner.

“Do you have a girlfriend?” he asked. “Just ask her that whole question as you wrote it . . . and tell me how it goes tonight.”

Apatow called for the next question and the panel shifted to other issues for the acclaimed “Girls,” whose third season launches Sunday night at 10.

Dunham said she expects more of the stories to branch out beyond the show’s core cast this season, and that could mean more diversity. She said she “loves” all the characters even when they behave badly and become obnoxious, because that at only makes them realistic.

Partway through, the discussion came back ck to the nudity.

“I’m sorry, I was spacing out because I’m in such a rage spiral about that guy’s question,” said executive producer Jenni Konner. “This idea that you would accuse a woman of showing her body too much ... just makes me sort of sick.”

Apatow also returned to it wh while answering a se separate query about w why the show’s charac acters sometimes ac act in uncomfortable w ways.

“Because it’s real, r it touches on people’s p insecurities,” ties ” he s said. “Sometimes it’s hard to watch because everybody relates to it in some way. Like when that guy goes in the mirror and looks at himself naked, he feels bad and he relates. He’s like, ‘Why is anyone naked?’”

HBO has ordered a fourth season of the hit show.