In a new essay, Monica Lewinsky opened up about the Clinton scandal, which changed her life forever, saying that the former President of the United States, Bill Clinton, should want to apologise to her for his part in the White House cheating scandal of 1998.
In a Vanity Fair piece titled, ‘Who Gets to Live in Victimville?’, Lewinsky explained her decision to appear in the new documentary The Clinton Affair, saying that reliving the past was traumatic, but “worth it if it helps another young person avoid being ‘That Woman’-ed.”
Speaking of Clinton and the fact that he has never properly apologised to her, Lewinsky wrote, “He contended that he had apologised publicly in 1998. I did as well. My first public words after the scandal—uttered in an interview with Barbara Walterson March 3, 1999—were an apology directly to Chelsea and Mrs. Clinton.”
She continued: “And if I were to see Hillary Clinton in person today, I know that I would summon up whatever force I needed to again acknowledge to her—sincerely—how very sorry I am. I know I would do this, because I have done it in other difficult situations related to 1998. I have also written letters apologising to others—including some who also wronged me gravely. I believe that when we are trapped by our inability to evolve, by our inability to empathise humbly and painfully with others, then we remain victims ourselves.”
“So, what feels more important to me than whether I am owed or deserving of a personal apology is my belief that Bill Clinton should want to apologise,” Lewinsky explained. “I’m less disappointed by him, and more disappointed for him. He would be a better man for it . . . and we, in turn, a better society.”
Lewinsky was just 22 when she became a White House intern and when she became known to the whole world as a ‘homewrecker.’ She was later diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and earlier this year, penned an essay about how differently her situation would’ve been seen in a post #MeToo era.
