Between 1995- 1996, Monica Lewinsky was famous for being the “president’s sidechick.” She had an enormous affair with Bill Clinton, the then US president, at the age of 22 while she served as a white house intern. Following the affair’s numerous backlashes from the American populace, Monica Lewinsky went off the grid for a while. But in recent times, she seems to be back in the spotlight, but this time as a producer.
Monica Lewinsky’s directional debut is the FX’s series Impeachment: American Crime Story. The ten-episode long series retells the story of the affair between Former US president Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky. The series gives an extensive revelation of the transactions that transpired in one of America’s most famous political extramarital affairs. Reason for their leaked tape that gave rise to the impeachment.
Apart from her involvement in the Impeachment scandal, Monica has made a different life and name for herself. She is now a social activist, a fashion designer, TEDTalks giver, Vanity Fair contributor, rap song muse, ex-beret model, emotional daredevil, knitter, and recently a producer.
In this article, we will be highlighting seven truths that have remained Untold about Monica Lewinsky and her whereabouts today.
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1. Monica Lewinsky Was The Main Consultants Of FX’s Impeachment: American Crime Story
According to the Executive producer of the series, Ryan Murphy, He was specific from the onset that he wanted Monica Lewinsky to be involved in the retelling of the impeachment story and freshly from her point of view. Hence he made her the principal consultant for the anthology series. So, she reviewed the scripts to reflect her narrative and experiences during the saga. Her involvement as the main consultant of the series also gave Beanie Feldstein, who plays the character of Monica Lewinsky, some level of confidence and peace. She told Entertainment Weekly that :
“When I received the scripts, I knew that every word that I was saying was approved and had been to Monica first. Then the producers would go through the scripts with her, giving feedback and her notes. And by the time it got to me, I was sure that everything in there was something that she felt comfortable with, she felt was real to her life and represented her well.”
One of the other producers Brad Simpson, also stated that Monica Lewinsky also wanted her relationship with the former US president, Bill Clinton, to be portrayed as mutual and consensual as it was. In his words: “She had agency in it, unlike the way it was portrayed in the past by the media.”
2. Monica Lewinsky Told The Impeachment Story Before In 2018
Lewinsky ha told her story before FX’s Impeachment: American Crime Story aired. However, the first time she told the story was in a six-part documentary titled The Clinton Affair. She recounts how she fell for Bill Clinton, the then US president, and how things escalated quickly. She recalls that time as one of the darkest times as she contemplated suicide.
3. Monica Lewinsky Is Making Her Documentary
Monica Lewinsky is pretty serious about getting her story out there like she told Vanity Fair. She recently collaborated with Catfish host Max Joseph to make an HBO Max documentary titled 15 Minutes of Shame. The documentary explores public shaming, an imitation of what Monica Lewinsky was subjected to in the ’90s. However, it was Announced in October 2019, the release date on HBO Max is yet to be made public.
4. Lewinsky Is An Anti Cyberbullying Advocate
Following the heavy backlashes that she received during the heat of Clinton’s impeachment in 1998, Monica Lewinsky has grown a thick skin that has made her resistant to bullying of any kind. She is so confident and bold to stand in the face of oppression. In 2015 she gave a remarkable speech at her TEDTalk, titled “The Price of Shame:
“At the age of 22, I fell in love with my boss. And at the age of 24, I learned the devastating consequences. I was swept up into the eye of a political, legal and media maelstrom like we had never seen before. When this happened to me 17 years ago, there was no name for it. Now we call it ‘cyberbullying’ and ‘online harassment.”
In recent times she has been devoted to delivering speeches bordering on the harmful effects of bullying. She’s also been a contributor to Bystander Revolution, an anti-bullying resource founded by MacKenzie Bezos, author and ex-wife of Amazon’s Jeff Bezos. She also launched her campaign against themed Defy The Name in 2018. The Campaign served as a support group for victims of bullying of any sort and public shaming.
5. Monica Lewinsky Is An Alumnus Of the London School Of Economics
Monica Lewinsky suffered a lot of cyber and in-person bullying after the Impeachment scandal. Even after relocating from Washington DC to New York, she faced public harassment. So In 2005, she disappeared from the public eye following her relocation to London. It was then she began attending the London School of Economics. After completing Her thesis in Search of the Impartial Juror: An exploration of the third-person effect and pre-trial publicity. She earned a master of Science degree in social psychology.
6. Lewinsky Owns A Handbag Line And Had A Foray As A TV Show Host
In the heat of the Impeachment saga, Monica Lewinsky took the most hit while Bill Clinton got far less. As a then 22-year old who was starting life, Her career path wasn’t apparent, and the whole saga made it even foggier. Thankfully. In 1999 when her Clinton-related legal debt had reached 1.5 million dollars, She launched her handbag line. Monica Lewinsky also took on TV show hosting jobs on the side. One of such jobs was as a spokeswoman for weight-loss company Jenny Craig that same year and a Fox dating show called Mr. Personality in 2003.
7. Today, Monica Lewinsky Makes Jokes Off The Impeachment Scandal
In the past, when the impeachment case was still brewing hot, the humorous side of Monica Lewinsky was at bay. But it is all over the place in recent times and very contagious too. Once in a while, she takes to her Twitter handle, @MonicaLewinsky, to Tweet in defense of Democrats. In response to a 2018 tweet from Florida senator Marco Rubio that began, “Although written by an intern at Politico…” She wittily replied, “blaming the intern is so 1990s.”
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Conclusion
Monica Lewinsky really had it hot in her early 20s being at the center of the 1998 impeachment saga. Thank God she found her voice after all that and is willing to tell her story.
