Monica Lewinsky claims Bill Clinton ‘escaped’ consequences of scandal ‘more than I did'
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Monica Lewinsky has reflected on the lasting impact of the Clinton scandal, saying the intense public humiliation she faced after her affair with former US President Bill Clinton was exposed nearly three decades ago made life “almost unbearable.”
In recent interviews, Lewinsky described the emotional toll of the media scrutiny, her struggle with thoughts about dying and what she sees as a stark imbalance in how responsibility and blame were assigned.
Lewinsky says public humiliation was unbearable
Lewinsky, who was a 22-year-old White House intern at the time of the affair, told The Times that the global attention following its exposure left her contemplating su***de.
“The public humiliation was excruciating; life was almost unbearable,” she said.
Clinton was 49 and serving as president when the relationship occurred, which later led to his impeachment trial in December 1998.
Reflecting on the aftermath, Lewinsky said she believes Clinton faced far fewer personal consequences than she did.
“I haven’t spoken to him in almost 30 years, and I don’t know what his internal landscape is,” she said.
“I think he escaped a lot more than I did.”
Clinton was ultimately acquitted, while Lewinsky withdrew from public life after a brief period of media appearances.
While maintaining that the relationship was consensual, Lewinsky said it was still fundamentally unequal.
“This was a gross abuse of power. Full stop,” she said.
She added, “That doesn’t mean I didn’t make mistakes, that I didn’t make wrong choices, that my behavior didn’t hurt other people. But at the heart of it was a gross abuse of power.”
Bill Clinton’s response and public defence of affair
In 2018, Clinton rejected suggestions that he should have resigned, responding to questions about the scandal during an appearance on NBC’s Today show.
“I dealt with it 20 years ago, plus,” he said.
“And the American people, two-thirds of them, stayed with me. And I’ve tried to do a good job since then, with my life and with my work. That’s all I have to say.”
After largely disappearing from the spotlight in the mid-2000s, Lewinsky has taken steps to reshape how her story is told.
She served as a producer on FX’s ‘Impeachment: American Crime Story’, which revisited the events surrounding the scandal and its political consequences.
Monica Lewinsky launches podcast to revive her public voice
In January 2025, Lewinsky launched her podcast, 'Reclaiming with Monica Lewinsky'.
According to the show’s synopsis, “Every week, I’ll draw from my own unique experiences (like say, surviving a global scandal at 24 years old), and delve into the personal and often messy ways people find their way back to themselves.”
During a February 2025 appearance on the 'Call Her Daddy podcast', Lewinsky said the way the affair was publicly denied had a devastating effect.
Referring to Clinton’s statement, “I did not have sexual relations with that woman,” she said, “It was gaslighting. I think that was what I experienced on a pretty large scale. It was devastating.”
Monica Lewinsky admits ‘I did make mistakes’
Lewinsky also told host Alex Cooper that she believes Clinton should have resigned when the affair became public.
“I think that 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.
She added that remaining in office should not have involved “lying and not throwing a young person who is just starting in the world under the bus.”
While emphasizing Clinton’s greater responsibility, Lewinsky said she does not absolve herself entirely.
“Let's recognize that while there were so many ways that Bill's behavior was more reprehensible than mine, I did make mistakes,” she said.
