Monica Lewinsky Pushed to Include Infamous Thong-Flashing Incident in Impeachment: Crime Story
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Monica Lewinsky said that she had to push for Impeachment: American Crime Story to include a scene that showed her flashing her thong at former President Bill Clinton.
“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 told The Hollywood Reporter of the now-infamous incident.
This season of Ryan Murphy’s hit series American Crime Story will deep dive into Clinton’s impeachment through the perspective of the women involved.
Lewinsky, who was initially reluctant to give Murphy the green light on a show that would rehash her past, eventually approved of the series once Murphy made her a producer and gave her the ability to “weigh in on sets and scripts and whatever else she had strong feelings about.”
“All I care about is what Monica thinks.” said writer Sarah Burgess — The Hollywood Reporter adding that Burgess “grappled with a desire to do right by her subject,” as she initially left the thong scene out due to a fear of “retraumatizing Monica.”
While writers were hesitant to include a thong-flashing incident in a show meant to highlight Lewinsky’s side of the 1990s saga, she insisted it be added, noting that she would be criticized for its absence.
“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,” she said.
Impeachment: American Crime Story is set to air on FX on September, starring Beanie Feldstein as Lewinsky, Sarah Paulson as Linda Tripp, Clive Owens as President Clinton, and Edie Falco as Hillary Clinton.
Billy Eichner will play The Drudge Report founder Matt Drudge, while Cobie Smulders later joined the cast to play Ann Coulter, replacing Betty Gilpin due to scheduling conflicts.
