Actress Sarah Paulson stood out from the crowd in a shimmering Alexandre Vauthier gown as she attended the premiere of the Impeachment: American Crime Story.
While strutting down the blue carpet wearing a pair of black stiletto heels, the Golden Globe winner smiled brightly as she held onto a chic clutch.
For the star-studded event Los Angeles, the 46-year-old star sported a glamorous makeup look, including blush, rosy lipstick and a smokey eye.
Beaming: Sarah Paulson stood out from the crowd in a shimmering gown as she attended the premiere of Impeachment: American Crime Story
Character: Paulson plays Linda Tripp on the series. The former White House employee secretly recorded Monica Lewinsky’s confidential phone calls about her relationship with President Clinton
Paulson wore her bright blonde bob in soft waves and red nail polish on her fingers on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, the acclaimed actress responded to the criticism surrounding her decision to portray Linda Tripp in Impeachment: American Crime Story, which revolves around the Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky scandal.
For the role, she gained 30lbs, wore a nearly five pound ‘fat suit’, prosthetic teeth, prosthetic nose, and a wig to emulate Tripp’s signature ’90s-style helmet of blond hair.’
Glowing: While strutting down the blue carpet wearing a pair of black stiletto heels, the Golden Globe winner smiled brightly as she held onto a chic clutch
Elegant: For the star-studded event Los Angeles, the 46-year-old star sported a glamorous makeup look, including blush, rosy lipstick and a smokey eye
Critics believe by taking the role, Paulson prevented a worthy actor, with Tripp’s larger body shape, from getting the role in what will be the third season of the FX true crime anthology American Crime Story.
In a new interview with the Los Angeles Times, Paulson didn’t shy away from the controversy, admitting that she understands the criticism about the padded suit.
‘It’s very hard for me to talk about this without feeling like I’m making excuses. There’s a lot of controversy around actors and fat suits, and I think that controversy is a legitimate one,’ she explained
Glamorous: Paulson wore her bright blonde bob in soft waves and red nail polish on her fingers
Role of a lifetime: The Run star underwent a major transformation to portray Linda Tripp for Impeachment: American Crime Story
‘I think fat phobia is real. I think to pretend otherwise causes further harm. And it is a very important conversation to be had. But that entire responsibility I don’t think falls on the actor for choosing to do something that is arguably — and I’m talking about from the inside out — the challenge of a lifetime.’
She continued, ‘I do think to imagine that the only thing any actor called upon to play this part would have to offer is their physical self is a real reduction of the offering the actor has to make.’
‘I would like to believe that there is something in my being that makes me right to play this part. And that the magic of hair and makeup departments and costumers and cinematographers that has been part of moviemaking, and suspension of belief, since the invention of cinema,’ she surmised.
Controversy: Paulson’s choice to wear a fat suit for the role sparked controversy earlier this week
‘Was I supposed to say no [to the part]? This is the question.’
Being more informed on the issues, Paulson went on to admit that she would have, in fact, responded differently to being offered the role of Linda Tripp.
‘I think the thing I think about the most is that I regret not thinking about it more fully. And that is an important thing for me to think about and reflect on. I also know it’s a privileged place to be sitting and thinking about it and reflecting on it, having already gotten to do it, and having had an opportunity that someone else didn’t have,’ the Emmy winner shared.
‘You can only learn what you learn when you learn it. Should I have known? Abso-f***ing-lutely. But I do now. And I wouldn’t make the same choice going forward.’
Tripp was a White House employee in the George H. W. Bush administration, and kept her job when Bill Clinton became president in 1993. During the summer of 1994, senior White House aides wanted Tripp removed, so they arranged a job for her in the public affairs office in the Pentagon.
Tripp secretly recorded Monica Lewinsky’s confidential phone calls about her relationship with President Clinton. In January 1998, she gave the tapes to independent counsel Kenneth Starr in exchange for immunity from prosecution.
The scandal that proceeded resulted in President Clinton being impeached, but not removed from office.
Criticism: In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Paulson admitted that she understands the criticism about the padded suit: she is pictured with Beanie Feldstein, who plays Lewinsky
Impeachment: American Crime Story will premiere on FX on September 7th
Impeachment: American Crime Story is based on Jeffrey Toobin’s book – A Vast Conspiracy: The Real Story Of The Sex Scandal That Nearly Brought Down A President (1999).
Along with returning cast members Paulson (Linda Tripp), Annaleigh Ashford (Paula Jones), and Judith Light (Susan Carpenter-McMillan), the upcoming season includes new cast members Beanie Feldstein (Monica Lewinsky), Clive Owen (President Bill Clinton), Edie Falco (Hillary Clinton), Margo Martindale (Lucianne Goldberg).
The cast also has Billy Eichner (Matt Drudge), Cobie Smulders (Ann Coulter), Taran Killam (Steve Jones), Mira Sorvino (Marcia Lewis), Colin Hanks (Mike Emmick), Elizabeth Reaser (Kathleen Willey), Dan Bakkedahl (Kenneth Starr), Kathleen Turner (Susan Webber Wright), and Anthony Green (Al Gore).
Impeachment: American Crime Story will premiere on FX on September 7th.