Monica Lewinsky bullied Bill Clinton for abuse of power
Monica Lewinsky has given her most unflinching account yet of the relationship that turned her life upside down. She accused former President Bill Clinton of “gross abuse of power” and described the long shadow cast by a scandal that, at the age of 24, made her a global object of ridicule and hatred.
RadarOnline.com can reveal Lewinsky, now 52, made the comments as she reflected on the aftermath of the 18-month relationship with Clinton that became public in January 1998, when she was a White House intern and he was leader of the free world.
During a wide-ranging interview, she described the sudden transformation from private citizen to hounded public figure after their affair occurred, recalling, “Becoming a public person without intending to be; you go to bed one night and the next day everyone knows your name.’
She described the years that followed the scandal as defined by fear, isolation and humiliation.
‘The public humiliation was unbearable; life was almost unbearable,” Lewinsky said, recounting how paparazzi made everyday life impossible and how her family was pushed to their limits.
She contemplated suicide, her father considered jumping from a balcony and her mother had a nervous breakdown.
Asked whether Clinton, now 79, had escaped the fallout from the affair, Lewinsky said: “I haven’t spoken to him in almost 30 years and I don’t know what his internal landscape is. I think he got away a lot more than I did.”
She added that while she once viewed the relationship as consensual, time and distance have changed her understanding.
“The further you get from something, the more mature you become and the more healed you become,” she said, adding, “And this was a gross abuse of power. Period.”
Lewinsky acknowledged her own part in the affair, but said the imbalance at the heart of the relationship was unavoidable.
“That doesn’t mean that I haven’t made mistakes, that I haven’t made bad choices, that my behavior hasn’t hurt other people,” she emphasizes. “But at the heart of it was a gross abuse of power.”
She also admitted that she was in love with Clinton, believing the feelings were mutual at the time, before admitting that what she thought those emotions meant was wrong.
The impact on her sense of self and sexuality lingered for decades after her dalliance with Clinton.
“The first time I had sex after ’98, I just wanted to get rid of it, so I knew it wasn’t a stigma that would stay with me for the rest of my life,” she said.
“But I do think the most powerful man in the world would stand up and say, ‘I didn’t have sex with that woman.’ I’ve definitely had to deal with some baggage in that area.”
Sources close to Lewinsky say the interview marks a defining moment in her long effort to reframe the narrative surrounding her affair.
One person told us, “She no longer softens her words for someone else’s comfort. By calling it an abuse of power, she draws a final line under decades of guilt unfairly imposed on her.”
Another source said the timing matters, with renewed attention on Clinton following the inclusion of photos of the former president in the latest release of Epstein files.
The insider added, “Every time his name comes up again, Monica’s follows. This is her claim that she owns the story of their affair on her terms.”
Lewinsky has since rebuilt her life as an anti-bullying campaigner, producer and podcast host, but says there are still huge scars.
“I’ve been dissected on the world stage,” she said, reflecting on years when no employers would hire her.
Now, she says, age has brought perspective.
Lewinsky stated, “My fifties were fantastic. There is so much acceptance.”
She also said of the victims of Epstein’s sex trafficking: “We have failed these young women. The survivors are the ones who need to take charge and dictate what happens.”
