Impeachment: American Crime Story latest news – Monica Lewinsky wanted MORE scandalous Bill Clinton details in FX show
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MONICA Lewinsky pushed for more scandalous details to be added to Impeachment: American Crime Story during the production process, even as others working on the show worried about "re-traumatizing her."
In the film, actress Beanie Feldstein, who portrays Lewinsky, will be seen flashing her thong underwear to Clinton during a social event.
While this was something that actually happened, writer Sarah Burgess revealed in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter that she originally kept the scene out of the script for fear of "re-traumatizing Monica," however, Lewinsky was the one who called for the scene to be included.
"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 said.
"So, ultimately, I felt two things: One was that I shouldn’t get a pass because I’m a producer; and two, that it was unfair to the team and to the project because it would leave everybody vulnerable."
, then 49, denied the affair with intern Lewinsky; Linda Tripp recorded Lewinsky speaking about the affair and handed the tapes over to federal lawyers.
The case was settled in 1998 when he paid out $850,000 - but the accusations triggered the Starr Report and the Senate impeachment that almost ended his presidency and is the focus of .
Read our Impeachment: American Crime Story blog below to keep up to date with all of the updates...
WHICH SEASON COVERED GIANNI VERSACE?
The second season, which premiered two years after the first, was subtitled The Assassination of , and was based on Maureen Orth's book, Vulgar Favors: Andrew Cunanan, Gianni Versace, and the Largest Failed Manhunt in U.S. History.
Season two explored the murder of fashion designer Versace during Cunanan's killing spree.
MOMENT BILL TOLD HILLARY ABOUT THE AFFAIR
Clinton has now recalled the moment he told his wife “exactly what happened” and said he “felt terrible about it”, according to a clip published by .
Clinton said: “I went and sat on the bed and talked to her. I told her exactly what happened, when it happened. I said I feel terrible about it.
“She said you have to tell your daughter. She said that's worse than me. So I did that, which was awful.”
HOW OLD WAS LEWINSKY AT THE TIME OF THE AFFAIR?
At the time, Lewinsky was a 21-year-old recent college grad with an unpaid internship in the office of President Clinton’s Chief of Staff, Leon Panetta.
Her relationship with Clinton was kept unwraps and reportedly lasted about two years.
News of Clinton and Lewinsky's relationship broke in January 1998.
WHO WILL PLAY THE CLINTONS?
Sin City actor Clive Owen, 56, will play the role of the former president, who witnessed the drama escalate when exposed
In the 10-episode arc, Sopranos actress Eddie Falco will play Bill's wife , 58, who watched as the Clinton-scandal dominate the news cycle in '98.
LEWINSKY WANTS TO 'RECLAIM NARRATIVE'
Lewinsky spoke to on August 6, 2021, about the series, saying: “People have been co-opting and telling my part in this story for decades.
“In fact, it wasn’t until the past few years that I’ve been fully able to reclaim my narrative.”
Additionally, she participated in a question and answer segment with Vanity Fair and revealed that her "greatest regret" in life is “that some of my choices have caused others suffering," Lewinsky said.
MOMENT CLINTON ADMITTED SCANDAL
In August, under questioning from independent counsel before a federal grand jury, Bill Clinton testified that he engaged in an inappropriate relationship with Lewinsky.
On December 19, 1998, when had a House majority, the chamber voted largely along party lines to impeach Clinton, a , on the grounds of perjury to a grand jury and obstruction of justice.
HOW DID LINDA TRIPP DIE?
Tripp died on April 8, 2020 aged 70 after losing her battle with pancreatic cancer.
Tripp secretly recorded intern Monica Lewinsky's boasts about having an affair with former president Bill Clinton, before handing it over to investigators.
WHEN DOES THE SHOW PREMIERE?
The countdown has officially started for Impeachment as the premiere is only a few days away.
Season tree of American Crime Story is set to air on FX, September 7, 2021, at 10pm EST.
During the production of the show, the real was an executive producer and even including the infamous that made headlines back in the day.
Other season of American Crime Story have covered the case as well as the assassination of
SARAH PAULSON 'REGRETS' WEARING FAT SUIT
Paulson, 46 is an award-winning American actress who portrays , the civil servant who played a "prominent role" in the Clinton–Lewinsky scandal.
As the series is about to premier, Paulson has opened up about her role and revealed that she regrets wearing a fat suit to portray Tripp.
"It's very hard for me to talk about this without feeling like I'm making excuses," she told the The Los Angeles Times.
"There's a lot of controversy around actors and fat suits, and I think that controversy is a legitimate one. I think fat phobia is real. I think to pretend otherwise causes further harm and it is a very important conversation to be had."
'BURY THE BLUE DRESS'
In a powerful essay for Vanity Fair in 2014, she stated it was time to "burn the beret and bury the blue dress" and "bring a purpose to my past."
She gave a speech on cyberbullying at a Forbes magazine "30 Under 30" summit and two years later she gave a Ted talk speech about being publicly shamed.
In another essay in Vanity Fair in 2018, she wrote: "He was my boss. He was the most powerful man on the planet.
"He was 27 years my senior, with enough life experience to know better.
"He was, at the time, at the pinnacle of his career while I was in my first job out of college."
LEWINSKY DEALT WITH BRUTAL 'BULLYING'
The 160-page report to the US Congress was followed by the president's impeachment while Lewinsky was in the spotlight for a long time.
She says she was bullied by the media for years after the scandal broke.
Various publications called her names while late-night hosts made sexual jokes at her expense.
As Lewinsky said in a Ted Talk in 2015, "Overnight, I went from being a completely private figure to a publicly humiliated one worldwide. I was patient zero of losing a reputation on a global scale almost instantaneously."
WITNESS IMMUNITY FOR LEWINSKY
In July 1998, Lewinsky received total witness immunity in exchange for a grand jury testament about her relationship with Clinton.
She and Clinton were eventually called before a grand jury that month; he testified via closed-circuit television, she in person.
WHEN DID THE SCANDAL COME OUT?
The Clinton-Lewinsky affair reportedly lasted for two years before it was made public in 1998 when Matt Drudge broke the story on his site the Drudge Report.
He leaked details of a phone conversation Tripp had recorded of Lewinsky venting about the affair after the young intern had confided in her co-worker.
WHO PLAYS MONICA LEWINSKY IN THE SHOW?
Booksmart actress , 28, will play Monica's character on the show.
Beanie told : "They don’t know the person, they don’t know the human that had to go through a very traumatic, overwhelming experience at 21 to 24 years old.
"I really hope that people are exposed to her humanity in a different light by watching this show."
WHAT IS BILL CLINTON'S NET WORTH?
’s estimated net worth is $80million according to
Combined with his wife,, the couple is worth approximately $120million.
In 2001, Clinton was millions of dollars in debt after he left the White House from legal fees part of his impeachment defense and sexual assault settlements.
He made his earnings from public appearances and book deals, earning $15million for the rights to his memoir.
Since leaving office, he has become a high-paid public speaker, making between $150,000 and $700,000 per speech.
'AMBUSHED' BY THE FBI
Lewinsky was ambushed by the FBI in the Pentagon City mall and was interrogated in a hotel room.
"That was the most terrifying day of my life, which competes for worst day with the release of the Starr report," she told
CLINTON FLEW ON EPSTEIN'S JET
Speaking on investigative journalist Vicky Ward claimed the former President flew on Epstein's jet, dubbed the "Lolita Express", in February 2005 while visiting Japan, Taiwan, and China.
Clinton also reportedly flew on a private jet owned by billionaire Ron Burkle with Maxwell during a trip to India in November 2003.
That visit came as part of Clinton's work with his eponymous foundation, as he sought to lower the costs of drugs to treat AIDS.
Both of the trips had previously been undisclosed.
LEWINSKY SPILLED ALL TO LINDA TRIPP
, then aged 49, on nine occasions, until March 1997.
Lewinsky confided about the relationship to Tripp - her defense department co-worker, who secretly recorded telephone conversations.
Tripp persuaded Lewinsky not to wash her "blue dress", which was damning evidence as it was covered in Clinton's semen stain.
WHAT WAS MATT DRUDGE'S ROLE IN THE SCANDAL?
The Clinton-Lewinsky affair reportedly lasted for two years before it was made public in 1998 when Matt Drudge broke the story on his site the Drudge Report.
He leaked details of a phone conversation Tripp had recorded of Lewinsky venting about the affair after the young intern had confided in her co-worker.
LEWINSKY PUSHED FOR TELL-ALL SERIES
Lewinsky reportedly pushed Impeachment's makers to include even her more scandalous actions in the new show, including a scene in which she flashed her thong to Clinton during a social event to get his attention.
"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," she said.
"So, ultimately, I felt two things: One was that I shouldn’t get a pass because I’m a producer; and two, that it was unfair to the team and to the project because it would leave everybody vulnerable."
TWITTER REVVS UP FOR SERIES PREMIERE
INFAMOUS BLUE DRESS EVIDENCE
During the investigation, Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr managed to acquire a blue dress from Lewinsky with Clinton's semen stain on it and testimony from her that the president had inserted a cigar into her vagina.
She said she didn’t notice the stained dress at the time but only realized it when she took it off afterward.
Tripp had persuaded Lewinsky not to wash the dress when they spoke about the affair and it became damning evidence.
CLINTON INITIALLY DENIED AFFAIR
When the scandal broke, Clinton immediately denied the affair while Lewinsky was forced to hide from public attention in her mother's residence at the Watergate complex.
Clinton uttered the now infamous line "I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky” days later on January 26, 1998, during a televised White House news conference with wife Hillary standing alongside him.
"There is not a sexual relationship, an improper sexual relationship, or any other kind of improper relationship.”
'MOST HUMILIATED PERSON IN THE WORLD'
in the late-90s as she was featured in SNL skits and as the butt of the joke in many late-night talk-show hosts over the affair.
As Lewinsky said in a Ted Talk in 2015: "Overnight, I went from being a completely private figure to a publicly humiliated one worldwide. I was patient zero of losing a reputation on a global scale almost instantaneously."
She has said that the exposure left her feeling like the “most humiliated person in the world” after the affair almost brought down Clinton’s presidency.
WHO IS PAULA JONES?
Paula Corbin Jones was born September 16, 1966 in Lonoke, .
She is an American civil servant who sued US president for sexual harassment in 1994.
In October 2016, Jones took part in a press conference with Trump before a presidential debate to express dissatisfaction against Hillary and Bill Clinton.
Juanita Broaddrick and Kathleen Willey, who also accused Bill Clinton of sexual harassment, attended the conference.