Ryan Murphy has revealed his hyped American Crime Story series on the impeachment of US President Bill Clinton was scrapped after a meeting with Monica Lewinsky herself.
Fair enough, that.
Prolific showrunner Murphy told The Hollywood Reporter that the series, based on Jeffrey Toobin‘s 2000 run-down A Vast Conspiracy: The Real Sex Scandal that Nearly Brought Down a President, is off the cards.
Murphy said he met Lewinsky – a former White House intern whose affair with the then-POTUS between 1995 and 1997 sparked a political crisis – at a Hollywood party, and that they discussed the forthcoming series.
“I told her, ‘Nobody should tell your story but you, and it’s kind of gross if they do,’” Murphy recalled, adding “‘If you want to produce it with me, I would love that; but you should be the producer and you should make all the goddamn money.’”
Evidently, Lewinsky declined that offer. An understandable move, considering the past two decades of her life have been defined by intense political attacks and obsessive scrutiny.
Notably, Murphy’s drama isn’t the only freshly-canned television series addressing the scandal. Just after Murphy revealed his plans were put on hold, the History network also announced its own impeachment series was donezo.
In any case, there’s probably enough in the way of current presidential scandals for the public to focus on.
