Jack Antonoff Wrote Some of Marnie and Desi's 'Girls' Songs for Kelly Clarkson

The voice(s) of our generation

BY Megan LaPierrePublished May 29, 2024

We can all agree that HBO's Girls didn't age particularly well. But now that that's out of the way, let's revel in the delightful cringe of reflecting on one of the most insufferable storylines of the series: Marnie and Desi's music career. 

Vanity Fair brought actors Allison Williams and Ebon Moss-Bachrach back together to reminisce about their days topping the list of Most Annoying Characters in the Lena Dunham-helmed dramedy that consisted exclusively of annoying characters — and brought with them a revelation that Jack Antonoff had actually written some of the Marnie and Desi songs for Kelly Clarkson

"I found out the other day that most of our songs were discards from Kelly Clarkson," Moss-Bachrach said.

"I think some of them were," Williams amended. "I think the song 'Breathless' was written by Jack Antonoff for Kelly Clarkson." The superproducer had been dating Dunham for the majority of the show's run.

Moss-Bachrach remarked, "I like that song," with Williams adding, "It's a great song, she should've done it! But we got it, as a result." The pair performed it live in the opening Season 4 episode entitled "Iowa."

Naturally, bringing up Antonoff led to a discussion of Taylor Swift's The Tortured Poets Department, with Moss-Bachrach "listening and learning" while self-proclaimed "insane Swiftie" Williams explains the Matty Healy lore and predicts that he would've fit in with Marnie and Desi's own unit. (Many have made memes of the two Girls characters and the album title.)

Watch Williams and Moss-Bachrach's reunion below.

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