Is Bill Clinton Really Chelsea's Father? Why Not Everyone Is Convinced

Bill Clinton's administration was marked by shady moments that can never be erased, especially because many of them involved sex. Bill's scandal involving Monica Lewinsky will be forever etched in U.S. history, but that was just one of them. Some of the controversies involving the 42nd president were indeed true, but others were proven false while many never left the realm of wild speculation. Among the latter is the rumor that Bill isn't Chelsea Clinton's biological father.

To many, including some who once ran in the Clintons' close circles, Chelsea's father is Webster Hubbell, the former mayor of Little Rock, Arkansas. No evidence has ever surfaced to prove this theory, and no one involved has ever dignified it with a comment. But that wasn't the only time a child was said to have been born out of Bill and Hillary Clinton's marriage. In 1999, an Arkansas sex worker claimed she fathered a son by Bill in 1985. In 1999, Star took it upon itself to get to the bottom of the story.

The magazine tested Bill's DNA (which is in the public record) against the then-13-year-old boy, Danney Williams, and disproved the theory. "There was no match, nothing even close," Star Editor Phil Bunton said, The Washington Post reported. Regardless of the DNA results, Williams continues to claim he is Bill's son. He even wished Bill a happy Father's Day on X, formerly Twitter, in 2017. While the Williams rumors were debunked, speculation about Chelsea's parentage continues making the rounds.

One of the biggest promoters of the Chelsea Clinton parentage rumors is Larry Nichols, a former aide to Bill Clinton who became a major detractor after being fired for misconduct in 1988. In 2014, Nichols contended Chelsea was the result of an affair Hillary Clinton had with Webster Hubbell (seen above), who had previously been her law partner, Radar reported. He also claimed he knew Bill couldn't be Chelsea's father because he suffered from infertility caused by childhood measles.

He learned of Bill's purported issues during the Danney Williams scandal. "He denied that he could have gotten her pregnant. He said he had measles as a kid and that rendered him sterile," Nichols said. Nichols isn't the only source who has made such claims. Juanita Broaddrick also said Bill admitted to being infertile after he allegedly raped her in 1978 — two years before Chelsea was born. But the source of his infertility differs in her account.

"After Bill Clinton viciously raped me — he said, 'Don't worry, I'm sterile due to mumps when I was a boy,'" Broaddrick tweeted in January 2024. Conspiracy theorist and author Robert Morrow, who has long promoted the parentage rumors, confronted Chelsea during a book-signing event in Texas in 2015. "Has your mother ever told you you're the daughter of Webb Hubbell and not Bill Clinton?" he asked. She calmly replied: "I'm so proud to be my parents' daughter." Hubbell denied to comment when asked by WorldNetDaily.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

Her parents' high-profile presence in American politics has put Chelsea Clinton in an uncomfortable position. But she has remained steadfastly loyal to Hillary and Bill Clinton. Despite the rumors about her parentage, Bill and Chelsea have never been anything other than father and daughter. Even during the difficult years plagued by his sex scandals, the Clintons remained close, sources told The Washington Post in 1998. Chelsea was 18 then, old enough to understand the seriousness of the accusations against her father.

But she didn't let it affect her, her friends said. All she cared about was that Bill was a good father to her. Others have attested to that. In "The Clinton Tapes," historian Taylor Branch described an argument Bill got into with Al Gore in November 1995 because of Chelsea's midterms. Gore wanted the president to address a diplomatic situation with Japan on specific dates. But Bill refused to prioritize the issue above his daughter. "Al, I am not going to Japan and leave Chelsea by herself to take these exams," he told him, according to Branch's 2009 book.

Bill continued to rank Chelsea high on his list of priorities even after she left the nest. Ahead of Chelsea's wedding to Marc Mezvinsky, Bill showed his enthusiasm for the role he was to fulfill. "I'm getting ready for the most important job I'll ever have: walking Chelsea down the aisle," he said at a cocktail party (via The Daily Beast).