From Rap to Off-Broadway, a Look at Clinton-Lewinsky in Pop Culture

Impeachment: American Crime Story is the latest installment of Ryan Murphy’s FX anthology series, this time dramatizing the Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky affair. Here’s a look at how some key players have been depicted elsewhere.

	IN ACS	ON SNL	ALSO PORTRAYED BY	RAP REFERENCE
BILL CLINTON	Clive Owen The British actor isn’t exactly the spitting image of Clinton, but he does project the right sort of slippery charm.	Darrell Hammond With his vocal-fry drawl and lusty demeanor, Hammond nailed something essentially Clintonian.	John Travolta in Primary Colors Joe Klein used the name “Jack Stanton” in this roman à clef turned movie, but there was no doubt who the model was.	“Bitch Im Bill Clinton,” Lil B The Bay Area emcee declares, “I’m Bill Clinton,” sleeping with “all these women” (though he puts it more colorfully).
HILLARY CLINTON	Edie Falco After playing the wife of a charismatic philanderer for six seasons on The Sopranos, she seems well prepped for this role.	Kate McKinnon There have been plenty of SNL impressions (including by Amy Poehler) but McKinnon singing “Hallelujah” right after Clinton’s loss to Trump sticks with us.	Shuga Cain on RuPaul’s Drag Race In a musical number inspired by Grease and Trump-era politics, the drag performer donned a leather jacket to play a hog-riding Hillary.	“Lollipop,” Lil Wayne Weezy uses “Hillary Rodham” to make a dirty pun.
MONICA LEWINSKY	Beanie Feldstein An actress known for roles in the films Lady Bird and Booksmart plays the White House’s most famous intern.	Molly Shannon Shannon’s cackly impression was kind of mean—something she later said she had misgivings about.	Lewinsky in Mr. Personality Lewinsky hosted this short-lived 2003 dating show, offering a winking reality-TV version of herself.	“Partition,” Beyoncé “Monica Lewinsky’d” is used as a sex-related synonym. Lewinsky later said that Beyoncé should have said “Bill Clinton’d” instead.
LINDA TRIPP	Sarah Paulson Paulson won an Emmy for her work in the first season of American Crime Story, playing O.J. Simpson prosecutor Marcia Clark.	John Goodman His drag impersonation was funny but also blatantly cruel.	Judy Gold in Clinton the Musical The Washington Post called her Tripp take in this off-Broadway satirical show “devilishly enjoyable.”	“Linda Tripp,” Company Flow This diss track is so named because it incorporates a secret recording of a call, à la Tripp’s tape of Lewinsky.