--- title: Louise Linton Speaks Out After Viral Instagram Post description: Louise Linton, the actress wife of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, has spoken out for the first time since her Instagram post controversy canonical: https://time.com/4926838/indefensible-louise-linton-speaks-out-after-instagram-post-controversy/ author: Jennifer Calfas article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-09-05T12:17:48.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-08T09:32:50.661Z article:section: Politics og:title: 'Indefensible': Louise Linton Speaks Out After Instagram Post Controversy og:description: "It's clear that I was the one who was truly out of touch" og:url: https://time.com/4926838/indefensible-louise-linton-speaks-out-after-instagram-post-controversy/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0ea41c5f3a8028af/6988da96ab6d7741fe6af7e3/louise-linton-instagram-criticism.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4500 og:image:height: 2531 og:image:alt: US-POLITICS-TREASURY-MNUCHIN og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 'Indefensible': Louise Linton Speaks Out After Instagram Post Controversy twitter:description: "It's clear that I was the one who was truly out of touch" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0ea41c5f3a8028af/6988da96ab6d7741fe6af7e3/louise-linton-instagram-criticism.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 'Indefensible': Louise Linton Speaks Out After Instagram Post Controversy > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=1b4f509e-6cb3-4d68-b031-001e4f9ea07b&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: 'Adorably Out of Touch.' Treasury Secretary's Wife Lashes Out at Critic After Flaunting Designer Clothes [Watch (HLS stream): 'Adorably Out of Touch.' Treasury Secretary's Wife Lashes Out at Critic After Flaunting Designer Clothes](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/2Lyg6aaH.m3u8) (1:09)  _Published 2017-08-22. Louise Linton, the wife of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, blasted as "adorably out of touch" a person who criticized her Instagram post in which Linton depicted her designer-label outfit._ by [Jennifer Calfas](https://time.com/author/jennifer-calfas/) ## Jennifer Calfas Sep 5, 2017 12:17 PM UTC by [Jennifer Calfas](https://time.com/author/jennifer-calfas/) ## Jennifer Calfas Sep 5, 2017 12:17 PM UTC [Louise Linton](http://time.com/4911605/louse-linton-instagram-post-apology/), the wife of Treasury Secretary [Steven Mnuchin](http://time.com/4832219/donald-melania-trump-mnuchin-wedding/), has spoken out for the first time since she came under fire for [an Instagram post flaunting her wealth](http://time.com/4910590/louise-linton-instagram-criticism/) in August. “It was scary and surreal but it forced me to take a deep look at what I had done,” she [told _Washington Life_](http://washingtonlife.com/2017/09/05/exclusive-interview-louise-linton-gets-real/), a magazine that details the life of the wealthy and powerful in Washington, D.C., in an interview. “I don’t feel like a victim. I feel like the world gave me a good, hard wake-up call and I’m OK with that.” In a post of an image of her and her husband descending from a military jet after a trip to Kentucky, Linton wore an outfit [worth up to $4,600](http://time.com/money/4910757/heres-how-much-louise-lintons-outfit-in-that-viral-instagram-post-costs/) and used hashtags to describe the brands. A woman, identified by the New York _Times_ as 45-year-old Jenni Miller, a mother of three, commented on the post, calling Linton “#deplorable.” The actress then wrote a lengthy response, calling Miller “adorably out of touch” and appearing to shame her for her “cute” life. Linton i[ssued an apology](http://time.com/4911605/louse-linton-instagram-post-apology/) through her publicist after the incident made headlines and has since made her Instagram account private. “I want to say I concede completely to the comments of my critics,” she told _Washington Life.”_My post itself and the following response were indefensible. Period.” The interview appeared in the annual “Balls and Galas” issue of the publication, and featured a spread of Linton posing in ball gowns. “I see the irony of making an apology in a ball gown,” Linton said, clarifying that she really is “a no makeup girl” who is more comfortable in leggings and a sweatshirt. But Linton, who grew up in her family’s castle in Scotland, made clear she has learned from the incident. “I don’t have any excuses, nor do I feel any self-pity for the backlash I experience,” Linton said. “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.” ## Transcript I really thought that it was just another example of the excess, had caused the issue. Because I had just been reading about with the secret service budget over time and some of the other things that we have seen over the last few months. And it also Upset me because here was a person getting off the government airplane. On what I assume was a government trip, with a government official. Honestly didn't know who se was. I assume she was the secretary's wife, but didn't know her name or anything but to then be tagging everything she was wearing, with all this expensive European designers names just. Seemed ridiculous and, quite frankly, offended me as someone who paid for part of their trip. It was very ironic that she was calling me out of touch and assuming things about me and Just being so incredibly condescending and so incredibly rude. But, it really fit in with her original posts. 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