Monica Lewinsky gets candid 30 years after Clinton affair

More than three decades after her name became one of the most recognizable in American political history, Monica Lewinsky is once again speaking openly about the scandal that changed her life forever.

Now 51, Lewinsky is reclaiming her story on her own terms, reflecting on the relationship with former President Bill Clinton that thrust her into the center of a global media firestorm and left lasting consequences that she says still resonate today.

Appearing on Elizabeth Day’s podcast *How To Fail*, the former White House intern offered a candid look back at the affair that dominated headlines in the late 1990s. At the time, Lewinsky was just 22 years old. Clinton was 49 and serving as President of the United States.

The revelation of their relationship sparked one of the most talked-about political scandals in modern history, leading to impeachment proceedings against Clinton and intense public scrutiny that fell overwhelmingly on Lewinsky.

“I was very quickly painted as a stalker, mentally unstable, not attractive enough.”

“Because of the power dynamics, and the power differential, I never should’ve been in that f***ing position.”