On Monday, October 20, Monica Lewinsky broke her sixteen-year-long silence by giving a powerful speech to more than a thousand young entrepreneurs at Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Summit in Philadelphia on topics such as public humiliation and cyber-bullying.
If you’re a 90s baby like me, then you probably remember hearing about Ms. Lewinsky (and the famed blue dress) quite often throughout your youth. In 1998, she was involved in what came to be known as the “Lewinsky Scandal” in which her affair with then-US President Bill Clinton was revealed and a major investigation regarding the affair was carried out—all right in the public eye.
As Lewinsky explains in her speech, she became “Patient Zero” as the Internet took her story by storm and succeeded in publicizing the scandal all over the world. She became the first person to ever have their reputation ruined thanks to the Internet. In just 24 hours after the scandal was released, Lewinsky’s life had already changed forever, as she became a household name, and not a revered one at that.
So as Lewinsky took the stage on October 20 for the first time in quite a while, it was with personal experience that she spoke to the audience about bullying. Since 1998, Lewinsky has been the butt of many jokes made by the media, politicians, the public, and Internet trolls.
When describing how she felt when the scandal first broke out, Lewinsky said that she came close to “disintegrating” and that she has been advised many times to go so far as change her name.
“There was a rotation of worsening name calling and descriptions of me. I would go online, read in a paper or see on TV people referring to me as: tramp, sl**, wh***, tart, bimbo, floozy, even spy,” Lewinsky said in her speech.
References of the affair are even transmitted to the music industry: many rap artists (and even Beyoncé) have cashed in on the affair by mentioning Lewinsky in their lyrics:
“Monica Lewinsky on the dress, you take her to the cleaners.” – Kid Cudi feat. Kanye West, ‘Erase Me’
“See me looking like a hundred mill / Like Lewinsky I’m trying to bl** a Bill” – Lil Kim, ‘Looks Like Money’
“No that ain’t my main girl, but every leader needs a Monica” – Big Sean feat. Drake, ‘Made’
As I sat in my room listening to the speech, I found myself struggling to even imagine what this woman has been through. Woman to woman, I kept telling myself that it’s a miracle that she survived because personally I don’t think I would have. Being publicly executed and demolished to the point of wanting to disintegrate—no one should have to go through that. No one should be subject to slut-shaming, bullying, or public humiliation at the hands of others.
I must say, however, that I am not blind to the affair itself. In fact, I’m not going to lie—it was wrong and immoral.
I’m also not turning a blind eye to Lewinsky’s handbag line, million dollar book deals, and brief career as a spokesperson for Jenny Craig either, things that some would argue allowed Lewinsky to actually profit from the scandal.
The point is that the humiliation and bullying that Lewinsky faced (and still faces) is immoral too. At the time of the affair, she was a 22-year-old who made a mistake, and the public is making her pay every day for that mistake.
But who are we to judge?
Since when are we all beacons of societal perfection that we can point fingers at others and shame them for their wrongs?
I applaud Lewinsky for not changing her name. I applaud Lewinsky for fighting not to disintegrate. And I applaud her for learning from her experience and helping others going through the same kinds of painful suffering. Because after all, you are not your mistakes.
In case you missed it, watch Lewinsky’s speech here.
Sources:
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/05/06/opinion/robbins-lewinsky-strength/index.html?hpt=hp_t3
http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/10/politics/monica-lewinsky/
Images obtained from:
http://www.indystar.com/story/opinion/2014/10/22/monica-lewinskys-words-…
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/monica-lewinsky-tape-bill-clint…
http://www.thepoliticalinsider.com/monica-lewinsky-my-boss-took-advantag…