Monica Lewinsky Speaking Out On Cyber-Bullying For TED
Monica Lewinsky is best known for her indiscretions with former president, Bill Clinton, and her involvement in his impeachment trial. But Lewinsky has been working on making her way back into the public’s view. How’s Lewinsky planning to do that? With a TED talk discussing a very serious issue.
Monica Lewinsky is giving a TED talk http://t.co/71p8g9PG0E pic.twitter.com/hRBtdPCA8L
— Business Insider (@businessinsider) March 3, 2015
The former White House intern will be giving a talk for TED on “a safer and more compassionate social media environment, drawing from her unique experiences at the epicenter of a media maelstrom in 1998,” according to KDVR.
Monica Lewinsky’s TED talk profile via @hunterw pic.twitter.com/XvPMRuAycv
— daveweigel (@daveweigel) March 3, 2015
TED, which stands for Technology, Entertainment, and Design, was originally a conference “devoted to spreading ideas” but has become an unstoppable force for spreading ideas and sharing solutions to problems.
Lewinsky plans to draw on her experiences after her interactions with Clinton were exposed. Lewinsky faced much criticism after being thrust into the spotlight – in a very unfavorable light.
In her speech for TED, which will take place on March 19 in Vancouver, Canada, Lewinsky plans to share her thoughts and experiences with bullying, specifically cyber-bullying and why we need to end it now.
This isn’t the first time Lewinsky has made a stand against cyber-bullying. Lewinsky wrote an article for Vanity Fair where she found “similarities between her case and high profile cases of cyber bullying.” Lewinsky specifically spoke out about the 2010 case of Tyler Clementi, the Rutgers student who committed suicide after facing cyber-bullying in regards to his sexuality.
Lewinsky told Vanity Fair, “My own suffering took on a different meaning…Perhaps by sharing my story, I reasoned, I might be able to help others in their darkest moments of humiliation. The question became: How do I find and give a purpose to my past?”
It was then that Lewinsky became an activist for putting an end to cyber-bullying. She gave her very first speech against cyber-bullying at the Forbes 30 Under 30 Summit.
According to Business Insider, she shared with the audience, “I went from being a completely private figure to a publicly humiliated one. I was patient zero.”
Lewinsky added, “Having survived myself, what I want to do now is help other victims of the shame game survive, too…I want to put my suffering to good use and give purpose to my past.”
While she may have been the butt of many jokes in the past, Monica Lewinsky is hoping to take her negative experiences and turn them into a tool for learning for everyone.
[Photo Courtesy of Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images]
