Don't hammer Linda Tripp, at least not in front of Sarah Paulson.
The Emmy-winning actor bristled when a reporter asked her what it was like to play such a despicable figure, who played a major role in turning President Bill Clinton's affair with a White House intern into a public scandal.
"You hate Linda. I just don't feel that way," Paulson said during a virtual news conference last month. "For full disclosure, we just finished shooting yesterday and I'm obviously still feeling incredibly protective of this woman that I tried to inhabit for the last 10 months. So forgive my emotionality around it."
Paulson may have indeed gotten too close to her character to be objective. If anything, "Impeachment: American Crime Story" debuting at 9 p.m. Tuesday on FX, is relentless in piling on the late civil servant.
In the seven of the 10 episodes available for review, Tripp comes across as a paper pusher desperate for attention. As much as she hates Clinton, she hates it even more that he doesn't know her name. Her resting face suggests that she just guzzled spoiled milk.
In a rare moment of self-awareness, she confesses that the highlight of her day is heating up a potato in the microwave oven and watching the "NBC Nightly News."
Then along comes Monica Lewinsky. The chance to blab about her office mate's relationship with the commander-in-chief is the opportunity she's been waiting for, even if it means being brutally parodied by John Goodman on "Saturday Night Live."
"You love the drama!" says another of the co-workers she betrays. "This is exactly where you want to be!"
One of the most painful scenes comes when Lewinsky runs into Tripp at a mall, hours after she's discovered that her closest confidante betrayed her by secretly taping their conversations. She notices Tripp is holding a bag from the Body Shop. While Lewinsky was being interrogated by FBI agents, Tripp went shopping.
Viewers looking for sympathetic characters will certainly gravitate to Lewinsky.
As played by "Booksmart" star Beanie Feldstein, who also served as an executive producer, the former intern is painted as a lovesick child manipulated not only by the most powerful person in the world, but by lawyers, consultants and the press.
Feldstein had many conversations with Lewinsky, who served as the miniseries' main consultant.
"I made it very clear to her when we started filming that I saw myself as her bodyguard," said Feldstein. "I was like, 'I'm putting my body in for you. I'm going to protect you. I have your back. I know your heart.' And that's my job."
Audiences are also bound to re-evaluate Paula Jones, who sued Clinton for sexual harassment but initially sought only an apology.
"I think that Paula Jones' perspective is going to be sort of surprising to people," said actor Annaleigh Ashford, who manages to capture the innocence of the former Arkansas state employee without making her a dumbbell. "They have no idea how many people were pushing her and driving her and sort of ultimately making her do what she did. There was always somebody else at the wheel."
Your heart will go out to a lot of the women in "Impeachment." Don't expect Tripp to be one of them.
Neal Justin • 612-673-7431 •
Njustin@startribune.com Twitter: @nealjustin
