Monica Lewinsky reveals it took her 20 years to recover from being ‘publicly humiliated’

Monica Lewinsky, 51, says it took two decades to recover from being “publicly humiliated” over her scandal with former US President Bill Clinton.

Lewinsky’s life changed in 1998 when her affair with the then-president became public.

The affair began when Lewinsky was 22 and a White House intern while Clinton was 49.

Now, nearly three decades after the headlines broke, Lewinsky has opened up about her long journey to “heal and reclaim” on her podcast, Reclaiming with Monica Lewinsky.

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In conversation with her special guest, Wicked director Jon. M Chu, Lewinsky said: “There is an interesting thing about both the experience of public humiliation and the healing from it – that it doesn’t happen alone.”

Lewinsky raised the point that “you actually cannot be publicly humiliated in a vacuum.”

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“Someone has to do something, or something has to happen, or you f–k up.

“If you f–k up when you’re by yourself, you’re not publicly humiliated. It’s that social dynamic that’s really interesting,” she explained.

Lewinsky compared her experience to Chu’s adaptation of Wicked through the main character Elphaba, played by actress Cynthia Erivo.

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Elphaba grows up a social outcast due to her bright green skin.

In a pivotal and emotional scene in the story, her classmate Glinda extends an olive branch by dancing with her in front of all their laughing classmates.

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Lewinsky said that while it took Elphaba one song, it took her 20 years to reclaim her own experience.

“…but I think I’ve just seen for myself how it’s been, really, a social and collective process for me of being able to heal and reclaim that way,” she reflected.

Lewinsky recently opened up about the scandal on the Call Her Daddy podcast, discussing the toll it took on her confidence and life in general.

While Lewinsky was body-shamed and extensively criticised in the media, she said “the consequences were just nowhere” for Clinton.

“You know, I lost my future… I was lucky enough to hold on to a strand of my true self, but I lost my future.”

Lewinsky has gone on to become an author and activist.

Earlier this month, she made a public appearance at the Vanity Fair Oscar after party.

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