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Post by Admin on May 6, 2014 22:28:58 GMT
Breaking years of silence, the former White House intern at the center of the scandal that led to President Bill Clinton’s impeachment writes in Vanity Fair that her affair was “consensual.” Lewinsky, now 40 and with a master’s degree in social psychology, writes that it’s “time to burn the beret and bury the blue dress” — a reference to the now-infamous piece of stained clothing she didn’t dry-clean after an encounter with Clinton. She also expresses some contrition, writing: “I, myself, deeply regret what happened between me and President Clinton. Let me say it again: I. Myself. Deeply. Regret. What. Happened.” Here’s an excerpt from Lewinsky’s Vanity Fair article that will be available Thursday online and on newsstands May 13. In the excerpts posted by the magazine, Lewinsky writes about the challenges she’s had in job interviews and says she’s turned down offers that would have pulled in “more than $10 million.” The news release from Vanity Fair also makes mention that Lewinsky writes about Hillary Rodham Clinton, and how she was “virtually reclusive” during the 2008 presidential campaign and feels “gun-shy yet again” because of the prospect of another Clinton presidential campaign in 2016. Referring to reports that the former first lady characterized her as a “narcissistic loony toon,” Lewinsky says her first thought was: “If that’s the worst thing she said, I should be so lucky.” As for why she’s speaking out now, Lewinsky writes that she became upset by the suicide of Tyler Clementi, the Rutgers University freshman whose intimate encounter with a man was videostreamed in 2010. Clementi’s death and public humiliation, she writes, caused her to view her own “suffering” in the spotlight in a different way. “Perhaps by sharing my story, I reasoned, I might be able to help others in their darkest moments of humiliation,” Lewinsky writes.
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Post by Admin on May 7, 2014 1:54:33 GMT
Monica Lewinsky writes in Vanity Fair for the first time about her affair with President Clinton: “It’s time to burn the beret and bury the blue dress.” She also says: “I, myself, deeply regret what happened between me and President Clinton. Let me say it again: I. Myself. Deeply. Regret. What. Happened.” After 10 years of virtual silence (“So silent, in fact,” she writes, “that the buzz in some circles has been that the Clintons must have paid me off; why else would I have refrained from speaking out? I can assure you that nothing could be further from the truth”), Lewinsky, 40, says it is time to stop “tiptoeing around my past—and other people’s futures. I am determined to have a different ending to my story. I’ve decided, finally, to stick my head above the parapet so that I can take back my narrative and give a purpose to my past. (What this will cost me, I will soon find out.)” Clearing the AirMaintaining that her affair with Clinton was one between two consenting adults, Lewinsky writes that it was the public humiliation she suffered in the wake of the scandal that permanently altered the direction of her life: “Sure, my boss took advantage of me, but I will always remain firm on this point: it was a consensual relationship. Any ‘abuse’ came in the aftermath, when I was made a scapegoat in order to protect his powerful position. . . . The Clinton administration, the special prosecutor’s minions, the political operatives on both sides of the aisle, and the media were able to brand me. And that brand stuck, in part because it was imbued with power.” Job HuntingAfter the scandal, writes Lewinsky, “I turned down offers that would have earned me more than $10 million, because they didn’t feel like the right thing to do.” After moving between London (where she got her master’s degree in social psychology at the London School of Economics), Los Angeles, New York, and Portland, Oregon, she interviewed for numerous jobs in communications and branding with an emphasis on charity campaigns, but, “because of what potential employers so tactfully referred to as my ‘history,’” she writes, “I was never ‘quite right’ for the position. In some cases, I was right for all the wrong reasons, as in ‘Of course, your job would require you to attend our events.’ And, of course, these would be events at which press would be in attendance.” Correcting the RecordLewinsky writes that she is still recognized every day, and her name shows up daily in press clips and pop-culture references. She admits that she used to refer to Maureen Dowd as “Moremean Dowdy,” but “today, I’d meet her for a drink.” And she requests one correction of Beyoncé, regarding the lyrics to her recent hit “Partition”: “Thanks, Beyoncé, but if we’re verbing, I think you meant ‘Bill Clinton’d all on my gown,’ not ‘Monica Lewinsky’d.’” Lewinsky responds to reports made public in February that Hillary Clinton, during the 1990s, had characterized her as a “narcissistic loony toon” in correspondence with close friend Diane Blair. “My first thought,” Lewinsky writes, “as I was getting up to speed: If that’s the worst thing she said, I should be so lucky. Mrs. Clinton, I read, had supposedly confided to Blair that, in part, she blamed herself for her husband’s affair (by being emotionally neglectful) and seemed to forgive him. Although she regarded Bill as having engaged in ‘gross inappropriate behavior,’ the affair was, nonetheless, ‘consensual (was not a power relationship).’” Why She’s Going PublicWhen Tyler Clementi, the 18-year-old Rutgers freshman who was secretly streamed via Webcam kissing another man, committed suicide in September 2010, Lewinsky writes, she was brought to tears, but her mother was especially distraught: “She was reliving 1998, when she wouldn’t let me out of her sight. She was replaying those weeks when she stayed by my bed, night after night, because I, too, was suicidal. The shame, the scorn, and the fear that had been thrown at her daughter left her afraid that I would take my own life—a fear that I would be literally humiliated to death.” Lewinsky clarifies that she has never actually attempted suicide, but had strong suicidal temptations several times during the investigations and during one or two periods after. Lewinsky writes that following Clementi’s tragedy “my own suffering took on a different meaning. 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 also says that, when news of her affair with Clinton broke in 1998, not only was she arguably the most humiliated person in the world, but, “thanks to the Drudge Report, I was also possibly the first person whose global humiliation was driven by the Internet.” Her current goal, she says, “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.” The full story is available May 8 in the digital editions; subscribe now for access. The magazine will be on national newsstands and available in an audio edition on May 13.
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Post by Admin on May 9, 2014 21:54:08 GMT
The story you thought was long over is back: Monica Lewinsky, the former White House intern whose affair with President Clinton eventually led to his impeachment and made her the object of punch lines and scorn, has written an article in Vanity Fair in which she says, "It's time to burn the beret and bury the blue dress." The full article is available today in Vanity Fair's digital edition. You need a subscription to access the story. Here are some excerpts. On the affair with the president:"Sure, my boss took advantage of me, but I will always remain firm on this point: it was a consensual relationship. Any 'abuse' came in the aftermath, when I was made a scapegoat in order to protect his powerful position. ... The Clinton administration, the special prosecutor's minions, the political operatives on both sides of the aisle, and the media were able to brand me. And that brand stuck, in part because it was imbued with power." How the scandal affected her employment prospects:"I was never 'quite right' for the position. In some cases, I was right for all the wrong reasons, as in 'Of course, your job would require you to attend our events.' And, of course, these would be events at which press would be in attendance." On reports that Hillary Clinton recently told a friend that Lewinsky was a "narcissistic loony tune":"My first thought, as I was getting up to speed: If that's the worst thing she said, I should be so lucky. Mrs. Clinton, I read, had supposedly confided to [her friend Diane] Blair that, in part, she blamed herself for her husband's affair (by being emotionally neglectful) and seemed to forgive him. Although she regarded Bill as having engaged in 'gross inappropriate behavior,' the affair was, nonetheless, 'consensual (was not a power relationship).' " Why now?Lewinsksy writes that she decided to come forward after the suicide in 2010 of Tyler Clementi, the 18-year-old Rutgers University student who was secretly watched via webcam kissing another man. She says that following his suicide, "my own suffering took on a different meaning. 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?" Drudge, Dowd and Beyoncé:"Thanks to the Drudge Report, I was also possibly the first person whose global humiliation was driven by the Internet." During the scandal, she says she referred to New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd, who criticized Lewinsky for her role in the scandal, as "Moremean Dowdy," but "today, I'd meet her for a drink." And of Beyoncé's song "Partition," Lewinsky writes: "Thanks, Beyoncé, but if we're verbing, I think you meant 'Bill Clinton'd all on my gown,' not 'Monica Lewinsky'd.' " ReactionReaction to the piece has been, as you might expect, swift. Lynne Cheney, the wife of former Vice President Dick Cheney, told Fox News that she wondered "if this isn't an effort on the Clintons' part to get that story out of the way. Would Vanity Fair publish anything about Monica Lewinsky that Hillary Clinton didn't want in Vanity Fair?" Hillary Clinton is seen by many as a Democratic presidential contender in 2016. Slate political reporter Dave Weigel wrote that the VF article is being talked about as Lewinsky's first words on the affair with Bill Clinton, but is in fact not. He says: As for Dowd, she wrote in her column Tuesday that she's game for a drink with Lewinsky, wished her luck, and said: "Though she's striking yet another come-hither pose in the magazine, there's something poignant about a 40-year-old frozen like a fly in amber for something reckless she did in her 20s, while the unbreakable Clintons bulldoze ahead."
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Post by Admin on Jun 10, 2014 13:53:39 GMT
Hillary Rodham Clinton says that she has ‘moved on’ from the Monica Lewinsky scandal and even wishes the woman who had an affair with her husband well. Former president Bill Clinton admitted that he had an ‘inappropriate relationship’ with Lewinsky when she interned at the White House in 1995 to 1996. But Mrs Clinton, talking as her memoir Hard Choices hits the shelves, is seemingly putting the past behind her. And when it was put to her that Lewinsky has complained about living her life ‘as a punchline’, Mrs Clinton said: ‘Well, I would wish her well. I hope that she is able to, you know, think about her future and construct a life that she finds meaning and satisfaction in.’ She added: ‘Forgiveness is a way of opening up the doors again and moving forward, whether it's a personal life or a national life.’ It was said that she’d referred to Lewinsky as a 'narcissistic looney toon' after the affair became public, but she refused to be drawn on this. Mrs Clinton explained that she believes that over the years she’s become a ‘deeper, more understanding’ person. If she does run for president again, Clinton said she 'would be working as hard as any underdog or any newcomer because I don't want to take anything for granted if I decide to do it.' That said, the presumptive 2016 frontrunner indicated that she may not reenter politics because she's happy with the work she is doing now at the Clinton Foundation. 'I really like my life, I like what I’m doing,' she said. 'I’m thrilled about becoming a grandmother in the fall. I have lots of hopes – for what that means – to me and my family.' 'We have one life to live. This is -- this is it. It’s not a dress rehearsal,' Clinton said. The comments come after her former boss - President Barack Obama - said he thinks she would be a 'very effective' president if she decides to run.
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Post by Admin on Oct 20, 2014 23:00:51 GMT
Teary eyes brought out sympathetic murmurs for Lewinsky today, after she got emotional in a speech to more than 1,000 millennials at Forbes magazine’s inaugural 30 Under 30 summit in Philadelphia.“It is only my fourth time delivering a speech in public,” she said. “So if I seem nervous, forgive me, because I am. And a little emotional, too.” Monica Lewinsky continues to share her side of the story, this time with a tearful speech that addressed her affair with then-President Bill Clinton and the devastation the scandal caused to her self-esteem. "Frankly, I came close to disintegrating. No, it's not too strong a word. I wish it were, but it isn't," Lewinsky, now 41, said Monday at the Forbes Under 30 Summit in Philadelphia. "A relentless mantra in my head: I want to die." Recalling the public reaction that suddenly exploded all around her, Lewinsky said, "Overnight, I went from being a completely private figure, to a publicly humiliated one. I was patient zero – the first person to have their reputation completely destroyed worldwide via the Internet." As for her own reaction, she said, "During this period, I gradually came to realize that there were two Monica Lewinskys ... There was me, and there was public Monica Lewinsky. A somewhat curious character, constructed by political factions and the media. Constructed with a little fact, and a lot of fiction. My friends didn't know that Monica. My family didn't know that Monica. And this Monica, the real Monica standing here today, didn't know her either."
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