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The one consistent through-line in the Clinton infidelity scandal was misogyny. I think by now we all recognize how badly Monica Lewinsky was treated, but no matter what you think of Linda Tripp and her behavior, the way her looks were turned into a public joke was surreal.
By all accounts a relatively average person was buried on a nightly basis for being too fat, too ugly, and apparently for the unforgivable crime of being undesirable. Eventually the self-doubt drove her to have plastic surgery to "correct" her appearance.
Seeing a woman driven to the point of surgery to stop the laughing didn't give anyone pause, this is how the AP wrote about it. Like they were writing about a new car rolling off the line. A product, not a person. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-dec-31-mn-49361-story.html
Did Tripp betray her friend's confidence? Absolutely. However, I would argue her real crime was being someone late night writers didn't want to sleep with.
What impact did that have on a generation of women seeing a woman obliterated night after night because she wasn't hot enough? And Tripp wasn't the only one. This is the same era of SNL that gave us Will Ferrel playing Janet Reno.
Sure you're the first female attorney general, but you're not hot. Unlike that hot piece of ass John Ashcroft I guess.
