Hillary Clinton decided to stick to wearing pantsuits to prevent paparazzi from snapping more “suggestive” photos of her, the scandal-plagued former secretary of state told CBS News.
In an interview with CBS News’ Norah O’Donnell, Clinton claimed racy photos of her captured by the press during a 1995 trip to Brazil prompted her to ditch skirts and take up her penchant for pantsuits.
“I was sitting on a couch, and the press was let in. There were a bunch of them shooting up,” Clinton said.
“All of the sudden, the White House get alerted to these billboards that show me sitting down with I thought my legs together, but the way it’s shot, it’s sort of suggestive,” she continued. “And then I also begin to have the experience of having photographers all the time — I’d be on stage, I’d be climbing stairs and they’d be below me.”
The CBS News segment displayed photos of Clinton that were used to sell lingerie.
An ad published by Brazillian lingerie company Duloren nearly three decades ago featured an image of Clinton sitting in a skirt. The ad ignited news headlines like “Hillary Clinton is ‘star’ of Brazillian lingerie ad” and “First lady of lingerie: Hillary Clinton.”
“I couldn’t deal with it, so I started wearing pants,” Clinton said.
The twice-failed presidential hopeful is also infamous for donning tents on special occasions.
Hillary Clinton Shows Up to Venice Film Festival Wrapped in a Blue Tent
Chelsea claims in the interview that she didn’t know the origins of how pantsuits became her mom’s trademark.
“I didn’t know that story. it’s by far and away the greatest revelation I had,” Chelsea said.
“It’s so creepy,” the former first daughter added.
The CBS interview is a promotion of Chelsea and Hillary’s eight-part Apple TV+ docuseries Gutsy.
Pressed by O’Donnell on whether there is an “effort underway to silence women, to intimidate them,” Clinton emphatically replied,” Yes. Yes I do.”
The former first lady then explained that remaining married to Bill Clinton amid sexual affairs and rape allegations was “the gutsiest thing I ever did privately.”
“It was not easy and it was something I could only decide,” Clinton said.
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