There may be a whole generation of people who don’t know who Monica Lewinsky is but it does not diminish the pain and the hardship a young woman had to go through. Especially when the person who should have been held accountable, moved on scar free.
It has been more than two decades since the news of Monica Lewinsky’s affair with then-President Bill Clinton broke. More than two decades after the firestorm captured national politics, it ultimately proved fatal for the only person who probably was the most innocent in the whole ordeal.
But now, Monica Lewinsky is speaking frankly again. But this time she is not a scared 20 something intern but a 51 year old woman and she is speaking with great clarity and self-assurance.
Lewinsky was recently on Elizabeth Day’s How to Fail podcast. Here, Monica Lewinsky discusses her romance with then-President Bill Clinton in a heartbreaking interview. This affair then went on to become one of the most significant political scandals in American history.
Monica confessed that at the time of the affair, her feelings were real and she described it as “a young woman’s love.” However, as she grew older, she learned a lot with maturity and perspective. And now she understands the severe power imbalance in the relationship and states that “it was an abuse of power.”
Her statement shows how her perspective on the relationship has changed and developed upon getting older and wiser. How it went from romance to a critical awareness of manipulation and fragility.
When the news of the affair broke, Clinton was required to give his testimony in front of the congress which was nothing short of deception. It then resulted in his impeachment by the House of Representatives in 1998. He was charged with perjury and obstruction of justice. However, Clinton was acquitted by the Senate and served his full term. Yet, the scandal left an
indelible impact on his presidency and mostly on Lewinsky’s life.
For Lewinsky, the consequences of this affair were quick and severe. She was characterized in the media as a “bimbo” and subjected to intense public scrutiny.
“I wasn’t a dumb bimbo,” she claimed on the show and defied years of negative stories. According to her, the White House “crafted” that label in order to demean her and make a mockery of her character. The public accepted it without a doubt because it was a young girl.
This scandal and tag killed her professional life. It also made finding work almost impossible in the years that followed.
Monica Lewinsky, now 51, slams the decades-old “dumb bimbo” narrative pushed by the White House after her affair with President Clinton. https://t.co/dx820fpBSy pic.twitter.com/SILODv68va
— Atlanta Black Star (@ATLBlackStar) June 25, 2025
Lewinsky underlined that the media and political machine had stripped her of her humanity. In order to save a man’s reputation, a story was built around her and then circulated by other powerful men in politics and media, and she was made a sacrificial goat.
For all these years, Monica remains silent. Where some applauded her for that, others criticized her for not speaking up for herself. Some social media users applaud her bravery and vulnerability. Others, however, wonder why she continues to speak up.
Yet, Lewinsky is clear. It is not about revealing the truth or reliving the past. But it is about reclaiming her story and her identity that was beaten down by a stick. She wants others to take charge of their lives and speak up so that no one else can write their narrative.
Watch @MonicaLewinsky‘s #TED2015 talk on the price of shame: http://t.co/XWJUdXvSt7 pic.twitter.com/SNvDWmHVo5
— TED Talks (@TEDTalks) March 20, 2015
Lewinsky has emerged from the shadows as a sharp and intelligent campaigner. Her work includes TED Talks, speaking engagements, and, most recently, her podcast Reclaiming with Monica Lewinsky. In this podcast, she promotes uncensored conversations about shame and resilience.
She is also a contributing editor at Vanity Fair. Here she writes with grace and candor about a variety of social topics. She is continuing her efforts to change public image.
Monica Lewinsky’s reclaiming of her story sends a powerful message: even in the aftermath of public humiliation, dignity, growth, and agency remain possible.
