"Own version": Monica Lewinsky will produce a film adaptation of the story of the sex scandal around Bill Clinton

Monica Lewinsky will be producing the third season of the television series "American Crime History," which will be the subject of the 1998 scandal around US President Bill Clinton. About it writes Vanity Fair.

The new season received the prefix “Impeachment” and will be based on the book of the American lawyer and writer Jeffrey Tubin “Large-scale conspiracy: A real sex scandal that nearly killed the president”, published in 2000. The role of Lewinsky in the series will be played by Beanie Feldstein (“Lady Bird”), and Linda Tripp - Sarah Paulson (“Glass”, “Secret Dossier”).

As the basis for the script for the new season, the director and producer of the series Ryan Murphy (who is also the creator of the American Horror Story) considered Tubin’s book back in 2017, but he suspended the idea, believing that without Lewinsky’s participation the story could turn out to be somewhat “vulgar” . Then it was decided to write a script based on an investigation of the consequences of the most devastating hurricane in US history, Katrina.

Each season of the American Crime Story tells about the processes that have had a tremendous impact on US society. The first season, released in 2016, was dedicated to the “Simpson case”: the famous football player O. Jay Simpson is accused of the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown-Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman. A reference to this case is in the series American Horror Story.

The series received positive reviews from critics and viewers: the rating of "freshness" of the first season according to Rotten Tomatoes reached 97%, the second collected 89% of enthusiastic responses.

Lewinsky - producer

The production of the third season of American Crime History was in full swing when Murphy directly turned to Lewinsky with a request to produce the project.

In her letter to Vanity Fair, Lewinsky said that the decision to take part in the creation of the third season was not easy for her, but she was given determination by Murphy's professionalism. In addition, she was delighted to be able to tell her “own version” of the 1998 scandalous story.

“This story has been told for decades by others on my behalf. And only a few years ago, after almost 20 years, I fully gained the opportunity to tell her own version, ”she wrote.

According to Lewinsky, she was not alone in the case of “using influential men to take advantage of those who obey them”, which makes the “Clinton case” a problem that has been relevant at all times.

Lewinsky did not often participate in projects dedicated to the scandal surrounding her relationship with Bill Clinton. However, in 2018, she agreed to give an exclusive interview that became part of the Clinton Affair documentary.

“Why did I decide to join this documentary project? First of all, because she could. From time immemorial, women have been slandered and forced to shut up. Now it’s time for us to tell our own stories in our own words, ”she noted in her letter of 2018. “And still I hope that with my participation and truthful presentation of the events of that period of my life - and our history - I will help to ensure that none of our youth have to survive what happened to me.”

“Inappropriate relationship”

In 1995, on May 21, Monica Lewinsky went to practice at the White House - first to the team of the chief of staff Leon Panetta, then to the legal department. Soon, she met with the 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton, and they began an affair. In 1996, Lewinsky was transferred to the Pentagon, where she became friends with Linda Tripp. Lewinsky told her new friend about her relationship with the head of state - in particular, that they had sex several times in the presidential Oval Office. Trippe soon began secretly recording her conversations with Lewinsky.

Bill Clinton has been accused of inappropriate behavior before when he served as Governor of Arkansas.

The lawyer of one of the women, whose case went to trial, in 1998 summoned Lewinsky as a witness. Monica Lewinsky sent a written statement to the court, in which she denied an intimate relationship with Bill Clinton. Soon, Linda Tripp contacted the office of Attorney General Kenneth Starr and talked about audio recordings on which Lewinsky described in detail the meetings with the president.

Lewinsky was taken into custody by FBI agents, and Starr offered her full immunity in exchange for testimony against Clinton. A few days later, the scandal became public, and Bill Clinton in a television appeal said that he "did not enter into sexual relations with this woman." Clinton's statement prompted the special prosecutor to accuse the president of giving false testimony and obstructing justice.

On August 17, 1998, Bill Clinton appeared before the Grand Jury (jury) to testify on perjury. Afterwards, the president admitted during a live television broadcast that he had entered into an “inappropriate relationship” with Lewinsky. He added that he regrets that he misled his spouse and the American people.

Following Starr's report to the U.S. Congress, Republicans began impeaching Clinton on an obstruction of justice. In December 1998, Congress voted to begin the impeachment process, and after five weeks of proceedings, the Senate acquitted Bill Clinton.