Celebrities on Instagram

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@lenadunham : I met Alissa Bennett my freshman year of college. I was a miserable virgin who had spent my life savings on a pair of Stella McCartney heels I wore every day even though I have a genetic condition that makes walking in stilettos nearly impossible. She was a twice married international model who had returned to college but was so worldly and sophisticated that we were all afraid to talk to her. She was obsessed with Victorian notions of female virtue and she often wore antique mourning jewelry made of real human hair. She also worked full time at an exclusive boutique that would have sold Vetements if Vetements existed yet and she was writing a thesis that focused on the sexual appeal of the tubercular woman. I once called her goth and she corrected me. One day she found me weeping in the bathroom because my hairless cat Thor was in the hospital. My tears made her cry, and she hugged me and told me she was also having a hard week because her husband (who she had recently married for the second time) was having an affair with some fancy rando. I decided anybody who hurt Alissa was my enemy and that I would use all my powers to humiliate them for crossing such a smart sleek bitch. Back in class she winked at me. The school year ended. I transferred and she graduated, got a job, became a mother, wrote zines and reviews and stories and checks. Then one day on Instagram I happened upon a page that told ornate tales of celebrity death, commenting not only on the lurid details but also on the culture that drives famous and desired people to self immolate. I was like “wow who is this genius?” It was Alissa. I wrote, simply, “I found you.” Now we have a podcast called The C Word that launches May 11 only on @hearluminary. The C Word is crazy, not cunt, though we use that too. We talk about women who history (and the internet) has called crazy, and their stories are a way for us to better understand ourselves. That’s always the case with celebrity, with the salacious details o