Monica Lewinsky was long a subject of ridicule for the American public
over her sexual relationship with former President Bill Clinton,
both of whom were the subjects of his sensationalized 1998 impeachment trial. Lewinsky,
then a 21-year-old White House intern, found herself unwillingly thrust into the spotlight of
American politics and muckraking. Many blamed her, rather than Clinton, for the ensuing
scandal — despite the overwhelming power inequity between a young intern and an older world leader.
"I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Ms. Lewinsky."
Though Clinton was ultimately acquitted by members of Congress and was able to recover
from it relatively unscathed, Lewinsky was hardly as fortunate. In the ensuing years, Lewinsky was
largely stigmatized and driven into reclusion, going so far as to flee the U.S. for Europe,
finding herself unable to gain steady employment for years due to the Clinton scandal.
In 2014, Lewinsky decided to regain autonomy and agency in her own story, chronicling the
personal fallout from the 1998 impeachment trial in a lauded essay for Vanity Fair. After that,
Lewinsky entered a new era, in which the public that had once repudiated her suddenly regarded
her as a feminist icon nearly three years before the "Me Too" movement gained ground.
Now, it seems Lewinsky will once again enter the public discourse with the debut
of Ryan Murphy's third season of "American Crime Story," which centers on Lewinsky.
But what part does she have in it all?
In an August 25th exclusive with the Hollywood Reporter, Lewinsky shared her experiences
serving as a producer in "Impeachment: American Crime Story," the third iteration
of Murphy's anthology series. Alongside actor Beanie Feldstein, who was cast
as Lewinsky for the project, the current anti-bullying activist apologized beforehand
for how many times she would potentially use the words "weird" and "surreal" during
her interview with the magazine — simply because, for Lewinsky, it's hard to describe it otherwise.
While Lewinsky expressed faith in Feldstein's ability to portray her
during one of the more traumatic and fraught periods of her life,
the "Impeachment: American Crime Story" producer explained during her Hollywood Reporter interview
how the evolution of the scripted project has, at times, created a sense of dissonance, saying,
"I'm very lucky to be in Beanie's hands in that way, but it's very challenging.
There are many moments where I'm transported to a memory from the show. But also, there's
the kind of bizarreness that when we relive a memory in our head, we don't see ourselves."
Despite it all, Lewinsky — who has been known at times to regard her own past with a mix of
both courage and humor — stated that this time around, she's prepared for what may come after
"Impeachment: American Crime Story" premieres in September. She told the Hollywood Reporter,
"The first time that there was all this attention on this story,
in 1998, I wasn’t prepared in any way. And now there’s going to be a lot of
attention on this story again, but I’m in a very different place in my life. I just turned 48,
I’ve now been a public person for half my f--king life. So … we’ll see."
While Lewinsky expressed the challenging nature
of not only re-living but recreating one of the most painful phases of her life
as a producer for "American Crime Story," she also approached it with a sense of integrity,
and a desire for sticking to the facts — even if they portray her in an unflattering light.
One of those particular incidents happens to be a moment that led to the consummation of
Lewinsky and former President Bill Clinton's sexual relationship — an
explicit flirtation on the part of Lewinsky, in which she lifted her jacket to display
the top of a thong she was wearing during a birthday party for Clinton's chief of staff.
Though Lewinsky herself recognizes that it wasn't her proudest moment,
she also knew that the event itself has been inscribed into Clintonian lore,
and there's no denying it. She said in her interview with the Hollywood Reporter,
"Listen, I would've loved to have been really selfish and said,
'That's great that you guys think we don't have to show that, fantastic,'
but I'm incredibly experienced in understanding how people see this story."
Lewinsky also felt that she shouldn't get a pass because she's a producer,
and that the scenario was one of damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don't. If she'd allowed the
moment-in-question to be omitted, as it originally had been from the script,
Lewinsky noted it would be, quote, "unfair to the team and to the project because it would leave
everybody vulnerable." At the end of the day, for Lewinsky, honesty was the best policy.
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