Accepting to work on the series “Impeachment: American Crime Story” as a producer was not easy for Monica Lewinsky, who fears, once again, that she will not be understood.
In a long article published on the American site The Hollywood Reporter, the former White House intern, whose name is known for her relationship with former US President Bill Clinton, and the scandal that followed, explained how she came to work on Impeachment: American Crime Story at the request of the creator of the series, Ryan Murphy.
Despite several refusals on the part of Monica Lewinsky – who considered that she had spoken enough publicly on the subject – the latter managed to persuade her to participate in the project after numerous phone conversations, a dinner in Manhattan, and the promise to do so. integrate the production so that it can have a say in the set and the scripts. A difficult role that Monica Lewinsky tried to hold with rigor, without letting her personal experience – and her feelings – influence her work.
Followed by a therapist
Knowing that going back to this traumatic episode in her existence was going to be a hardship, she admits having hired a therapist to support her throughout the project. “It’s very difficult, especially vis-à-vis the dramatic elements that must be integrated into the story,” she explains, admitting to having only been on the set once for a scene that did not include it.
Monica Lewinsky, on the other hand, wrote numerous notes for writers to guide them through certain scenes (except all those involving Bill and Hillary Cliton, “for obvious reasons,” she says). She even insisted that a scene showing her thong to Bill Clinton – which had been deliberately put aside by the writers – be included. Monica Lewinsky, who knew this part of the story was common knowledge following the trial, did not want it deleted.
“I would have liked to be selfish and say ‘it’s great guys not to want to show that’, but I know the public perception of this story (…) So I said two things to myself. The first is that I shouldn’t get special treatment because I was a producer, and two, it would have been unfair to let the writers get burned publicly for refusing to include this scene, ”she says.
Why did you agree to confront her old demons again, at this point in her existence? “I would like to be sure that this never happens to a young person again,” she said. Monica Lewinsky, however, fears one very specific thing, “not to be understood once again” by public opinion.