Monica Lewinsky is speaking out with renewed candour about the profound and lasting impact of her affair with former U.S. President Bill Clinton, an event that defined her life and shook the globe nearly three decades ago.
The Scandal That Almost Broke Her
In a series of recent interviews, Lewinsky has revealed the severe emotional toll she endured. She told The Times that the relentless public humiliation was "excruciating" and made life "almost unbearable." The former White House intern, who was 22 at the time of the relationship with the 49-year-old president, has stated she was pushed to the brink of suicide by the intense media scrutiny that followed the scandal's exposure in 1998.
While President Clinton faced an impeachment trial in December of that year and was ultimately acquitted, Lewinsky argues the long-term consequences fell disproportionately on her. "I think he escaped a lot more than I did," she said, noting she hasn't spoken to Clinton in almost 30 years. Clinton survived politically; Lewinsky, by her own account, barely survived personally.
Reclaiming Her Narrative
After retreating from public view in the mid-2000s, Lewinsky has spent recent years deliberately taking back control of her story. She served as a producer on the 2021 FX series Impeachment: American Crime Story, which framed the events through her lens. In January 2025, she launched her podcast, Reclaiming with Monica Lewinsky, aimed at exploring how people recover from personal crises.
Lewinsky maintains the relationship was consensual but is unequivocal in her condemnation of the power dynamics. "This was a gross abuse of power. Full stop," she stated. She acknowledges her own mistakes but emphasizes the fundamental imbalance between a young intern and the world's most powerful leader.
A Stark Contrast in Aftermath
Clinton has largely avoided revisiting the scandal. In a 2018 interview on NBC's Today Show, he dismissed further discussion, saying, "I dealt with it 20 years ago, plus... That's all I have to say." This stance stands in sharp contrast to Lewinsky's ongoing process of public reflection.
She has grown increasingly blunt in her assessments. During a February 2026 appearance on the Call Her Daddy podcast, Lewinsky suggested the appropriate course for Clinton would have been to resign rather than deny the affair. "The right way to handle a situation like that would have been to probably say it was nobody's business and to resign," she said, "Or to find a way of staying in office that was not lying and not throwing a young person... under the bus."
She specifically cited Clinton's famous denial—"I did not have sexual relations with that woman"—as an act of large-scale gaslighting that was "devastating" to experience. Despite the pain, Lewinsky insists on a nuanced view, recognizing the complexity of the presidency while holding firm to the reality of the abuse she endured.
