First Stop on Louise Linton's Apology Tour is the Cover of a Socialite Magazine

By Joanna Rothkopf | September 5, 2017 | 2:20pm

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Louise Linton, wife of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin known primarily for hashtagging #Hermes and #Valentinorockstudheels while disembarking from a government jet in an Instagram about self-sacrifice, is using her cover of Washington Life’s annual Balls & Galas issue to “speak out.”

“I want to say I concede completely to the comments of my critics,” she says in an interview about the Instagram imbroglio. “My post itself and the following response were indefensible. Period. I don’t have any excuses, nor do I feel any self-pity for the backlash I experienced. I sincerely take ownership of my mistake. It’s clear that I was the one who was truly out of touch and my response was reactionary and condescending.”

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She continues to express remorse, emphasizing that she is not a designer-girl anyway—in fact, she is a no makeup-girl. “This is me,” she says, pointing to herself in a sweatshirt and leggings, “I’m this girl. I’m a no makeup girl. I was trying to create this public image that was elegant and stylish, but that was just so clueless because I should have focused on who I really am instead.”

Then we get this extremely good bit of layout juxtaposition:

Linton elaborates about her true self: “On a daily basis, I’m a girl that’s at her desk, barefoot in gym clothes working on films and animal welfare. [Writer’s note: same!!!!!] I love my family. I’m a fiercely loyal friend. I’m a homebody at heart and I love to be around my dogs.”

The interviewer notes that Linton had to be persuaded to pose in “beautiful dresses,” and asks if she was concerned that people would criticize her.

“I know that they will,” she says. “I see the irony of making an apology in a ball gown! But it would be dishonest to proclaim that I’m never going to another social function. That’s also part of my life. [Writer’s note: same!!!!!] Charity fundraising galas have always been a wonderful way to support a myriad of causes. whether I’m in a ball gown or a pair of jeans, it’s not about me, or what I’m wearing, it’s about what I can be doing to support and empower others going forward. I hope my actions speak more for me in the future than my hashtags! [Writer’s note: same!!!!!]”

Yes, please judge poor Louise not for her shiny hair or fancy #Valentinorockstudheels, but for her and her husband’s potentially unethical use of a government plane, or her grotesquely offensive “memoir,” In Congo’s Shadow, in which she fancies herself a “central character” in the Congolese Civil War, despite the fact that the book takes place in Zambia, when that war explicitly did not—a memoir that the Zambian embassy has even taken the time to condemn as falsified and inflammatory. Just remember who Louise is before you rush to judgements.