This morning. “Morning Joe” did a segment on Monica Lewinsky. I was trying to figure out why, when I saw that she spoke at an event in Philadelphia yesterday. This event was Forbes’ 30 under 30 Summit.
Wut.
After hearing that she said this,
“Having survived myself, what I want to do now is help other victims of the shame game survive, too. I want to put my suffering to good use and give purpose to my past.”
…I wanted to vomit.
So of course I poked around to see what other gems she had to offer:
“There was no Facebook, Twitter or Instagram back then. But there were gossip, news and entertainment websites replete with comment sections and emails which could be forwarded. Of course, it was all done on the excruciatingly slow dial up. Yet around the world this story went. A viral phenomenon that, you could argue, was the first moment of truly ‘social media’.”
“Staring at the computer screen, I spent the day shouting: ‘oh my god!’ and ‘I can’t believe they put that in’ or ‘That’s so out of context. And those were the only thoughts that interrupted a relentless mantra in my head: ‘I want to die.'”
“Sixteen years ago, fresh out of college, a 22 year old intern in the White House — and more than averagely romantic — I fell in love with my boss in a 22-year old sort of way. It happens. But my boss was the president of the United States. That probably happens less often. Now I deeply regret it for many reasons, not the least of which is that people were hurt. And that is never okay.”
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All of this disgusts me.
Now, in the midst of my disgust, I had to pause and find the source. I questioned if I was falling for the patriarchal/misogynistic trap of putting the onus of good behavior on the woman, while giving the man a pass (cause I do very much so love President Bill Clinton)?
No, I don’t think that’s it. I don’t think that’s it at all.
I think my problem is that this woman is getting national attention, 16+ years later for….having a sexual relationship with a married man. Period. That’s what she did. That is her contribution to society. THAT is why we know her. And 16 years ago, much like today, the ONLY reason why we know it is because she wanted to stick it to President Clinton in the worst way. THAT is why Monica Lewinsky is a thing. She did nothing else but save some of President Clinton’s semen on her dress.
And the “I was just a little 22 year old girl who fell for her boss blah blah blah” is WEARING. ME. OUT. At 22, you’re old enough to do EVERYTHING. You’re definitely old enough to know that having a sexual relationship with a married man is probably not a good idea.
I understand we make mistakes. I’m still making them. I get that. But to parade it around and gain notoriety for giving fellatio? I mean….
Let me stop here and mention that I do not condone, at all, the actions of President Clinton. At all. He was wrong. Period.
Got it?
Okay. So now, in 2014, we have Monica Lewinsky popping back up in an effort to stop “cyberbullying” or whatever, right? Anybody else thinking about the timing, here?
She’s vindictive and petty. And I think that’s my major problem. The timing IS NOT a coincidence.
She’s not over it. How could she be? EVERYTHING she does and says publicly, she brings it all back up. Every. Single. Time. And why? Because she has nothing else!
Book deals. Speaking engagements. Weight loss endorsements. A purse line. Millions of dollars. HBO specials. High profile interviews. Reality show host. And all because she had a sexual relationship. I mean, I guess I have to hand it to her. She’s riding this train until it makes its last stop, huh? Do what you gotta do, sis.
But I still wish she would just go away.
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Here’s a video, if you must:
