Louise Linton Apologized for Insulting Someone on Instagram for Not Being As Rich As She Is
UPDATE: In a statement released Tuesday afternoon, Louise Linton apologized for her now-deleted Instagram photo and commentary, calling her remarks “inappropriate.”
“I apologize for my post on social media yesterday as well as my response,” Linton said. “It was inappropriate and highly insensitive.”
In a typical presidential administration, the spouse of a cabinet member can manage to stay under the radar, remain out of the public eye, and maintain at least a semblance of pre-government life normalcy.
In the Trump administration, however, life is anything but typical: Just consider Louise Linton, a Scottish actress and the wife of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who caused some major public uproar on Monday after bragging about traveling on a government plane.
To set the scene, let’s revisit the Instagram post Linton shared on Monday (one that has since been made private). The couple was traveling to Kentucky so the Treasury secretary could drum up support for his proposed tax overhaul and Linton opted to share a photo marking the occasion. In the picture, Linton and Mnuchin are seen stepping off a government plane—her husband in a classic dark suit, Linton dressed in all-white, her blond hair cascading in the wind. “Great #daytrip to #Kentucky! #nicest #people #countryside,” Linton captioned the shot before making note of all the labels she was wearing: “#rolandmouret pants, #tomford sunnies, #hermesscarf #valentinorockstudheels #valentino #usa.”
Now, let’s be clear: There’s no issue with a person of considerable financial means choosing to spend their own money on designer clothing and accessories. And though The Washington Post reports that most Treasury secretaries use domestic carriers for trips within the United States, a Treasury Department spokesman confirmed that the plane was cleared by “appropriate government channels” and the Mnuchins paid for the cost of Linton’s travel. (He also added that Linton received no compensation from the brands she hashtagged.)
But what is truly off-putting is when someone in Linton’s position starts a comment war with other Instagrammers over her conspicuous displays of wealth. Wrote 45-year-old Jenni Miller: “Glad we could pay for your little getaway #deplorable.”
Linton, however, refused to ignore the critics and soon went off on this particular woman. In a lengthy—and condescending—post she wrote:
“Aw!!! Did you think this was a personal trip?! Adorable! Do you think
the US govt paid for our honeymoon or personal travel?! Lololol. Have
you given more to the economy than me and my husband? Either as an
individual earner in taxes OR in self sacrifice to your country? I’m
pretty sure we paid more sacrifices toward our day ‘trip’ than you
did. Pretty sure the amount we sacrifice per year is a lot more than
you’d be willing to sacrifice if the choice was yours.”
(We can likely assume that one of those sacrifices was Mnuchin’s divestment of his financial interests in several film production companies, including the one behind this summer’s smash hit superhero movie, Wonder Woman.)
Linton concluded her diatribe by saying that Miller was “adorably out of touch,” telling her that her kids and her life looked “cute,” and recommending that she check out this week’s episode of Game of Thrones.
This, of course, isn’t the first time Linton’s faced a wave of backlash for some public remarks. In 2016, she self-published a memoir about her gap year in Zambia and described the experience as a “living nightmare.” But not only was Linton slammed for creating a “white savior” fantasy, her memoir was also riddled with inaccuracies (according to the website OkayAfrica, Linton’s work was “the dumbest, most egregious piece of writing on Africa of the 21st century.”). Ultimately, Linton’s book was removed from sales.
In an interview with The New York Times, Miller said she was stunned by Linton’s response and found the remarks “wholly inappropriate.”
“I think my post was just five or six words, and she had to go on basically a rant about it to make herself look more important and look smarter, better, richer—all those things,” she said.
“If she hadn’t made her account private, I would have written back with a very snide Marie Antoinette joke,” Miller added.