Lena Dunham to pay book tour acts after criticism

Lena Dunham has promised to pay the opening acts on her book tour after she was criticised for hiring them to work for free.

The Girls creator is set to embark on a 12-date trek from Tuesday (30Sep14) to promote her autobiography Not That Kind of Girl, and she wants local artists from each city to perform before her appearances.

In an article published on Gawker.com on Monday (29Sep14), Dunham was criticised for not paying the warm-up acts amid reports the book tour has already pulled in more than $300,000 in ticket sales.

Dunham has now promised to pay all of the acts, writing in a series of posts on Twitter.com, "As an artist raised by artists, no one believes more than I do that creators should be fairly compensated for their work... This feature of the tour was meant to be a way to showcase local talent and I could not be more excited about it... Some good points were raised and I've ensured that all opening acts will be compensated for their time, their labour and their talents."

The book tour starts on Tuesday in New York City.