Sarah Paulson says criticism of her Linda Tripp performance in American Crime Story is "so hurtful"

13 December 2021, 15:37

Watch Sarah Paulson transform into Linda Tripp

By Sam Prance

Sarah Paulson was heavily criticised for being cast as Linda Tripp and wearing a fat suit in the role.

Sarah Paulson has clapped back at the criticism around her casting as Linda Tripp in Impeachment: American Crime Story.

American Crime Story: Impeachment tells the story of the infamous Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky scandal in the 1990s. Clive Owen stars as President Bill Clinton, Beanie Feldstein plays Monica Lewinsky and Sarah Paulson appears as Linda Tripp. Linda was a civil servant who secretly recorded Monica's phone calls that exposed her relationship with Bill.

In order to appear as Linda, Sarah wore a fat suit and heavy prosthetics for the role. Many viewers criticised Ryan Murphy for failing to cast someone the same size as Linda in the role and now Sarah Paulson has responded to the backlash.

READ MORE: Sarah Paulson says she doesn't like AHS: Roanoke and wishes she wasn’t in it

Discussing the criticism in an interview with The Wrap, Sarah said: "It did hurt my feelings, but partly because it felt, as often happens when you’re criticized for your work, it’s very hard to not personalise. It’s very hard to not want to say, ‘I just spent two years of my life and then I gained 30 pounds to play this part. I slept, breathed, wept, bled Linda Tripp for two years."

Sarah then added: "So for you to sit down at your computer and decide that this endeavour was maybe not worthwhile and that maybe I shouldn’t have been the one to play it, it’s so hurtful and also wrong."

In a previous interview with the LA Times, Sarah said: "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. I think fatphobia is real. I would like to believe that there is something in my being that makes me right to play this part."

What do you think? Was Sarah right for the part or not?

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