Reclaiming Her Narrative: Monica Lewinsky and the Politics of Impeachment

Feb 5

The newest installment of the anthology series American Crime Story follows the events that led to the impeachment of President Clinton. For those who did not live through it or are simply unaware, from 1995 to 1997, President Bill Clinton had a sexual affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. At that time, many other women came forward, including Paula Jones, with their stories of sexual assault from Clinton. Eventually, these incidents led to the infamous impeachment of Bill Clinton on the grounds of obstruction of justice and perjury.

Instead of giving Clinton the spotlight, the story of Impeachment follows Monica Lewinsky (Beanie Feldstein) and her emotional turmoil as she became involved in the biggest presidential scandal of all time. Along with this, a side-plot of the show features Paula Jones (Annaleigh Ashford) and her lawsuit against President Clinton for sexual misconduct. By mainly focusing on Lewinsky and Jones, instead of Clinton, Impeachment makes a strong effort to flip the narrative and give control to the women affected by the former President’s misconduct.

The vast majority of the cast went through dramatic transformations to turn into their characters. Beanie Feldstein, the star of the season, had the most minimal transformation. With a mere 90’s haircut and a series of pantsuits, Feldstein became the spitting image of Lewinsky. On the other hand, several other actors underwent serious transformations to encapsulate their characters. In reality, British actor Clive Owen looks and sounds nothing like Bill Clinton. However strange this casting choice may seem from the outset, Owen essentially became Clinton. Through elaborate hair and makeup and a convincing Arkansas accent, in the end, Clive Owen was Bill Clinton. Above all, the most shocking transformation was Sarah Paulson’s into Linda Tripp. Paulson wore prosthetics on her face and teeth, as well as gained weight and wore padding to emulate Tripp. The choice of Paulson to wear a ‘fat suit’ to become Linda Tripp was very controversial and added to the conversation of the lack of diversity in Hollywood. Instead of casting an actress with the body type of Linda Tripp, there was a conscious decision to pad Paulson’s body to make her figure fuller. While this practice is not uncommon, each time a casting decision that could lead to a more diverse outcome is avoided, progress is slowed down.

While most of the ensemble cast looked and sounded nearly identical to their real-life counterparts, Edie Falco as Hillary Clinton was a bit of a letdown. Well known for her role on The Sopranos, it seemed like they had just placed Falco herself into the drama that ensued at the time. Despite her hair, makeup, and accent, it was hard to believe that she was playing Hilary Clinton.

Since this scandal is relatively recent, it was interesting to see how the main players in real-life interacted with the show. During the weeks that Impeachment aired, Hillary Clinton was posting 90s throwback photos on her Instagram. The version of the era shown in her photos was one untouched from scandal. However, as Americans know and as Impeachment showed, the 90s was nothing but turmoil for the Clintons. While audiences were able to see what the Clintons are doing currently, Linda Tripp passed away in April of 2020, before Impeachment aired. It would be interesting to hear her response to these deeply personal events playing out on television. While individuals like Monica Lewinsky had a sense of control over the show, Linda Tripp could not respond to her portrayal.

A modern-day lens on the events that unfolded during Clinton’s presidency offers a new perspective on the show and the events it depicts. Impeachment is not merely a time capsule to the 90s. Instead, it is the result of many years of reflection on the infamous events.

In fact, Monica Lewinsky served as a producer on the show. In a way, she was able to show her side of the events and have a high degree of control over her life story. Gone are the days when the media painted her as a culprit and ‘home-wrecker’. Impeachment, under Lewinsky’s supervision, painted Monica as a complex character. She was ambitious, smart, and young, with so much potential. At the time of the scandal, Lewinsky was in her early twenties, just starting off a job in Washington. She did not deserve how the media treated her in the late 90s, and Impeachment was a way to take back control over how the public responds to the name Monica Lewinsky.

American Crime Story never seems to disappoint. With season one following the O.J. Simpson trial, season two covering the assassination of Gianni Versace, and season three looking deeper into the impeachment of President Clinton, American Crime Story has captivated audiences with dramatic retellings of infamous events in American History. Where will the series turn next? Could the next installment focus on Charles Manson, or possibly the killing of JonBenet Ramsey? Only time will tell, but one thing is for sure: the next installment of American Crime Story will be equally thrilling and disturbing.