Monica Lewinsky Speaks Out!

 

As part of her return to the spotlight, Lewinsky shared details in a new National Geographic documentary, 'The 90s: The Last Great Decade?', which will air starting next Sunday.

On Tuesday, the Today show gave a first glimpse at the three-part special, in which Lewinsky, now 40, opens up about the day a 445-page report by special prosecutor Kenneth Starr was published.

'That was one of the worst days of my life,' she said. 'I was a virgin to humiliation of that level, until that day... I was the most humiliated woman in the world.

To have my narrative ripped from me, and turned into the Starr report, and things that were turned over or things they delved out of my computer that I thought were deleted. I mean it was just violation after violation.'

 

Lewinsky, who was 22 when she first began her affair with the president, said she was also left devastated by the media coverage.

 

'To be called stupid, and a slut, and a bimbo, and ditzy, and to be taken out of context, it was excruciating,' she said.

'To be in the vortex of this media maelstrom was quite alarming, and frightening. And confusing. I think a lot, too, had to do with the fact that I was a woman.'

Lewinksy's interview, which also shares her suicidal thoughts and whether or not she feels she deserves an apology from Clinton, will air on Monday. 

Her re-emergence into the spotlight comes after 10 years of self-imposed exile.

'It’s time to burn the beret and bury the blue dress,' she wrote in the Vanity Fair story. 'I, myself, deeply regret what happened between me and President Clinton. Let me say it again: I. Myself. Deeply. Regret. What. Happened.'

The timing of Lewinsky's decision to return to the spotlight coincides with the release of Hillary Clinton's memoir Hard Choices as speculation as to whether she will run in 2016 ramps up.

Hillary Clinton says she has 'moved on' from the Monica Lewinsky scandal and wants everyone else to do the same.

However, Republicans have signaled they don't consider her husband's scandal from the late 1990s out of bounds in the realm of 2016-style political dialogue.

Hillary Clinton also refused to confirm or deny calling her a 'narcissistic looney toon' after the affair became public.

Lewinsky says she wants to use her experiences to help others facing public humiliation, citing the tragic death of Tyler Clementi, who killed himself after he was streamed via webcam kissing another man and was ridiculed on social media.

'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?' she wrote.

'My current goal is to get involved with efforts on behalf of victims of online humiliation and harassment and to start speaking on this topic in public forums.