“The part that I saw about me, most of it was inaccurate. It was almost kind of cartoonish-y,” Jones tells Inside Edition. Jones was a 24-year-old Arkansas state employee when she says then-governor Bill Clinton sexually harassed her.
Paula Jones, who sued former President Bill Clinton for sexual harassment, is blasting the new FX show about the impeachment of Clinton in 1998.
Actress Annaleigh Ashford portrays Jones in “Impeachment: American Crime Story,” the third season of the true-crime anthology television series.
While Jones admits the show nailed her look, she believes that there’s a lot that it got wrong.
“The part that I saw about me, most of it was inaccurate. It was almost kind of cartoonish-y,” Jones told Inside Edition.
Jones says the part in the show that portrayed Jones trying to get a movie deal was “so far from the truth.”
“How can they portray somebody accurately if they don’t even call them,” she added.
On the other hand, Monica Lewinsky, who is a producer of the series, is getting what some see as kid gloves treatment.
“I find it funny that Monica can have a relationship with [Clinton] in the Oval Office, under the oval desk, but yet she’s allowed and people want to hear her story. It just makes no sense to me. And it’s almost like I have always been shunned and made fun of,” Jones said.
Jones was a 24-year-old Arkansas state employee when in 1991, she says then-governor Clinton invited her to his hotel suite, took off his pants to expose his genitals and asked Jones to perform oral sex on him.
When Inside Edition anchor Deborah Norville interviewed Jones about the incident in 1998, Jones became upset after a question posed by Norville.
“With all due respect, why would Bill Clinton care about you? So you turned him down,” Norville asked.
“I don’t appreciate that. That was really rude. That was so rude, that was so rude!” Jones said. “I don't appreciate it. I have enough people screaming about me, talking about my new nose and everything else. Everybody else has plastic surgeons and gets noses done, but no, I don't have a right. I'm not pretty enough, and I'm not good enough.”
When Norville interviewed her this time, she explained that she meant no disrespect.
“What my point was, OK fine, he wasn’t successful with this girl. You know, move on next. Why would he care enough that one person turned him down to go whisper to somebody, to make sure nothing good happens with this lady’s career,” Norville explained.
“Right, yeah. And you know, I don’t know the answer to that,” Jones said.
In 1994, Jones filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Clinton. After four years of legal warfare, without admitting wrongdoing or apologizing, Clinton agreed to settle Jones’ lawsuit for $850,000.
But after attorney’s fees and taxes, Jones says she received only about 10% of the settlement.
“My lawyers got all the money. I hope they're all happy,” Jones said.
These days, Jones stays busy selling decorative signs for the home. She’s also a wife of 20 years to her second husband, a mother and grandmother.
It’s a simple life she hopes to return to soon, once she’s out of the headlines.
