Monica Lewinsky On Clinton Affair: "My Boss Took Advantage Of Me"

"It's time to burn the beret and blue dress," she says in an article for Vanity Fair, to run May 8.

By
Tracy Clayton
by Tracy Clayton

BuzzFeed Staff

A teaser posted on the Vanity Fair website promises a juicy read, with Monica Lewinsky saying of her notorious affair with Bill Clinton that "my boss took advantage of me."

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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.

It has been 17 years since news of her infamous relationship with then-president Bill Clinton captivated the nation. Now, at 40 years old, Monica Lewinsky opens up in Vanity Fair after nearly 10 years of silence.

Photo by Thos Robinson / Getty Images
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.

Lewinsky said she was also motivated to go public by the death of 18-year-old Tyler Clementi, who committed suicide after his roommate streamed footage of him kissing another man.

Lawrence Lucier / Getty Images

News of the incident triggered both Lewinsky and her mother, she said, as Lewinsky, too, was suicidal due to the shame brought on by the media frenzy surrounding her affair with the president. She said she feared she would be "literally humiliated to death" and believes she was "possibly the first person whose global humiliation was driven by the internet."

Lewinsky said in Vanity Fair that her suffering "took on a different meaning" after Clementi's death. "Perhaps by sharing my story, I reasoned, I might be able to help others in their darkest moments of humiliation."

The full interview will be available digitally on May 8.

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