There's a Secret Behind Lena Dunham's Met Gala Photos

Lena Dunham went all in with this year's Met Gala theme, channeling the avant-garde spirit of designer Rei Kawakubo with a voluminous plaid Elizabeth Kennedy ballgown — a "sensual tablecloth of a gown," she joked on Instagram.

But the Girls star really was putting on a brave face for the red carpet. Her Met Gala evening ended with a trip to the emergency room, due to complications from her most recent endometriosis surgery. Poor Lena! She posted a heartfelt thank you from her hospital bed to all the fans who've supported her throughout her struggles with the disease. Lena's been an outspoken champion of endometriosis sufferers, and she also gave a shout-out to all the ladies out there who keep going even in the face of chronic pain. Lena's job that evening just happened to be walking the Met Gala red carpet, and she really wasn't feeling up to it, but she did went out there anyway.

"I also want to remind all the women suffering from chronic illness that we aren't weak- quite the opposite, actually," she wrote. "We do our jobs with skill even when we're struggling. We care [for our] families even when we can hardly care for ourselves. We serve major face on a red carpet when we feel like lying face down would be more appropriate."

Despite the bummer end of the night, being rushed to the hospital, Lena wrote the sweetest message about her Met Gala 2017 memories. "I'll always be proud of those Met Gala pics- not just because I felt beautiful, surrounded by art and magic, hugging my best friend tightly, but because they're evidence that women contain steely multitudes," she wrote.

Here's that pic with her best friend, Girls producer Jenni Konner. They're matchy-matchy, aw!

Let's throw it back to what Lena and Jenni wore last year to the Met Gala: it's just as matching, but this time they were mini-mes to fashion royalty, former J.Crew guru Jenna Lyons!