More than 27 years have passed since the revelation of the relationship between President Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky. Now 51 years old, Lewinsky has a strong and impactful message for her former superior.
In a recent interview with Call Her Daddy’s Alex Cooper, Lewinsky discussed the widespread negative impact that affected women all across the country as a result of their affair.
She described the decades of pain that she suffered after being “painted as a stalker, mentally unstable, and not attractive enough” in the episode.
“Because of the power dynamics and the power differential, I never should have f*****g been in that position,” Lewinsky said in a burning comment.
The young hopeful was just 22 years old when she got the job in the Oval Office and started a relationship with then-49-year-old Clinton.
The affair lasted for two years before Matt Drudge exposed their liaison on his website, the Drudge Report, in January 1998, leading to a swift and intense federal inquiry.
After the scandal emerged, Clinton uttered the now infamous line, “I did not have sexual relations with that woman,” in a White House press conference.
“There is not a sexual relationship, an improper sexual relationship, or any other kind of improper relationship,” he said as his wife Hillary stood by his side.
As Clinton spread lies to the public, Americans turned their hatred toward Lewinsky. Now, she’s revealed the nationwide repercussions of being crucified in the public eye.
“There was so much collateral damage for women of my generation,” Lewinsky told Cooper.
The author and activist explained how she feels young professionals were discouraged from shooting for the stars after seeing her be “torn apart” for her sexuality and “mistakes.”
Nearly a decade after the dust settled and Clinton was ultimately impeached over their relationship, Lewinsky began to recognize the true harm of being the president’s mistress.
She had spent most of her years following the White House stint trying to sell handbags and signing brand deals to earn money paying off legal bills.
“That was the point when I realized everything had been taken from me,” she said.
“I lost my future.”
LEWINSKY’S FUTURE
In recent years, Lewinsky has emerged as an anti-bullying activist and is working to raise awareness of how much online hate can affect mental health.
In 2015, she gave a Ted Talk where she said, “Overnight, I went from being a completely private figure to a publicly humiliated one worldwide.
“I was patient zero of losing a reputation on a global scale almost instantaneously.”
In 2021, she worked as a producer on the show American Crime Story: Impeachment, which dramatized her and Clinton’s affair.
She encouraged the showrunners to include all the most explicit details of their tryst, including Clinton inserting a cigar into her vagina.
Monica Lewinsky timeline
MONICA Lewinsky became a well-known name following the coverage of the scandal involving her and former President Bill Clinton.
Here’s how it unfolded:
July 1995: Lewinsky obtained a position as a White House intern through a family friend and relocated to Washington DC.
January 17, 1998: The Lewinsky and Clinton scandal broke after a leaked telephone conversation she had with co-worker Linda Tripp.
March 3, 1999: Barbara Walters interviews Lewinsky in an episode of 20/20 recounting the scandal.
September 1999: Lewinsky becomes a handbag designer with accessories bearing her name.
April 2000: Lewinsky becomes a spokeswoman for Jenny Craig, Inc.
March 2002: She appeared in the HBO special, “Monica in Black and White”, part of the America Undercover series.
January 20, 2007: Lewinsky graduates from London School of Economics with a Master of Science degree.
July 1, 2014: Lewinsky was interviewed in a three-part television special for the National Geographic Channel titled The 90s: The Last Great Decade. This is her first public interview in over a decade.
October 20, 2014: The former White House intern gave a speech on cyberbullying at a Forbes magazine “30 Under 30” summit.
March 20, 2015: Lewinsky gives a TED talk speech about being publicly shamed.
October 15, 2017: Lewinsky tweets #MeToo in light of the Me Too movement in response to sexual assault and harassment in the workplace.
September 4, 2018: Lewinsky was invited to speak at a conference in Israel but refused to answer if Clinton owed her an apology and walked off stage.
March 19, 2019: Lewinsky appeared on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver where she discussed public shaming regarding her scandal.
August 6, 2021: Lewinsky offered an interview about her role as a producer on Ryan Murphy’s series on Clinton’s impeachment.
September 7, 2021: Lewinsky and Clinton’s anthology true crime series premieres on FX.
October 1, 2021: Lewinsky tweets that she is participating in Bullying Prevention Month.
October 5, 2021: Lewinsky appears on CNN with Jake Tapper to discuss Impeachment: American Crime Story.
In the Hulu documentary Hillary, Clinton opened up about the mistakes he made in the White House, though he’s never publicly apologized to Lewinsky.
He said, “Everybody’s life has pressures and disappointments, terrors, fears of whatever.
“Things I did to manage my anxieties for years. I’m a different, totally different person than I was, a lot of that stuff 20 years ago.
“Maybe it’s just getting older but I hope it was also going through a lot of this.
“But whatever, what I did was bad but it wasn’t like – how can I think about the most stupid thing I could and do it.
“It’s not a defense, it’s an explanation. I feel awful.”
Lewinsky’s Call Her Daddy episode was released on Wednesday.
