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Monica Lewinsky Breaks her Silence

vesper said:
The left demonized Lewinsky during this whole thing blaming her for the incident while placing Billy Boy above the fray. It was appalling and it is appalling to see it continue after all these years. There are a lot of things in the childhood of Lewinsky that a psychologist could point to as reasons that result in needy/insecure women. But there are also those types of males that know how to spot those "needy women" to exploit them. Hello Billy Boy.
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Or she could have just as much blame in this whole thing and it is being ignored because some want to view her as the victim and Clinton as this horrible man who took advantage of his intern. I would call him stupid. I think she though simply likes powerful men and/or saw an opportunity for future gain. Nothing about her attitude, then or even now, indicates to me that she was a victim in this.
 
roguenuke said:
Or she could have just as much blame in this whole thing and it is being ignored because some want to view her as the victim and Clinton as this horrible man who took advantage of his intern. I would call him stupid. I think she though simply likes powerful men and/or saw an opportunity for future gain. Nothing about her attitude, then or even now, indicates to me that she was a victim in this.
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And I think you think too much and read way too much between the lines. She was an intern. He was the President. Calling what he did as being just stupid is an understatement.
 
vesper said:
Yes he was impeached but from the comments in this thread alone there are several who have a forgiving spirit toward him but not Lewinsky. And I think that tells it all.
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Yes, a few commenters on DP = "the left." Gotcha.
 
vesper said:
And I think you think too much and read way too much between the lines. She was an intern. He was the President. Calling what he did as being just stupid is an understatement.
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And she was a woman who was known to have an affair with an older married man before she even made it out of college. Just because she was an intern, doesn't mean that she couldn't have recognized that having an affair with the President could gain her fame. Plus, it could certainly make her feel "important". But she is an adult. We aren't talking about a case where her job was threatened or she was offered bribes. This was simply her making the President "happy". It could have either been her psychology or her ambition or both. Who knows, but she still was not a victim here.
 
roguenuke said:
She got $1M dealing with rights for her Barbara Walters interview, $500K for being a part of Monica's Story (an autobiography written soon after the incident), $300K endorsement deal from Jenny Craig, worked on a reality dating program (Mr. Personality), was a correspondent for a British news channel, and she sold her own line of handbags (she started knitting during the scandal, I guess) for about 6 years. She also showed up on several other shows, particularly after the immunity agreement expired. Plus, her parents were well off to begin with. She wasn't exactly from a farm in Nebraska. She went to a private school in Bel Air and a "family connection" got her the internship to begin with.
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Ah. So not "millions", but $1.8 Million, with more to come probably from the book. Alright.
 
SMTA said:
Makes no difference.
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The hell it doesn't. The 47 year old Prez was suppose to be her mentor. And how did he mentor her? By unzipping his pants.
 
vesper said:
Yes he was impeached but from the comments in this thread alone there are several who have a forgiving spirit toward him but not Lewinsky. And I think that tells it all.
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No one would even be thinking about her or care about the affair one bit if she wouldn't have brought it up, again, because she wants to sell her book. It isn't like she has really been silent about this either. She already helped another author write a book about it Monica's Story. And for someone so humiliated about the affair, she sure talked about it to a lot of people, both before it became known and even since.
 
roguenuke said:
And she was a woman who was known to have an affair with an older married man before she even made it out of college. Just because she was an intern, doesn't mean that she couldn't have recognized that having an affair with the President could gain her fame. Plus, it could certainly make her feel "important". But she is an adult. We aren't talking about a case where her job was threatened or she was offered bribes. This was simply her making the President "happy". It could have either been her psychology or her ambition or both. Who knows, but she still was not a victim here.
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I'd say she has paid dearly for poor judgment as a young woman. I would also say, her mentor the President was an asshole and used her like a piece of toilet paper. A young woman with stars in her eyes, infatuated with the president got her what? A miserable existence of humilitation for twenty years thanks to folks like you.
 
cpwill said:
Ah. So not "millions", but $1.8 Million, with more to come probably from the book. Alright.
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So you don't think she was paid for those appearances on those other shows or her time hosting that dating show?
 
roguenuke said:
So you don't think she was paid for those appearances on those other shows or her time hosting that dating show?
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:shrug: you are the one who provided the numbers. What do you think she would have been able to command in salary had she never had the affair? As you point out, she didn't exactly come from destitution or lack for an education. That's the baseline, which is why I accounted strictly for the income which flowed from it.
 
vesper said:
I'd say she has paid dearly for poor judgment as a young woman. I would also say, her mentor the President was an asshole and used her like a piece of toilet paper. A young woman with stars in her eyes, infatuated with the president got her what? A miserable existence of humilitation for twenty years thanks to folks like you.
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I've never met the woman, nor talked about her to anyone outside my own family, until now. I was in my teens when this occurred, but still smart enough to read people even back then. IF a person really feels humiliated about something that happened to them, they don't keep talking about it. They don't continue to bring it up over and over again to make money off it. If she's embarrassed about anything, it's the fact that people found out about it before she was ready to tell, and that led to more of her personal life coming out as a result. She kept a stained dress for months (if not longer). That's disgusting. And considering how she initially reacted to it coming out, I highly doubt she felt like she was a victim or that she would need to use the dress to prove an affair. She was probably pissed when Clinton initially lied about it. In fact, she said that was her biggest problem with his book and how she was mentioned, was basically he blew her off as not that important to him (which I somehow doubt he ever led her to believe, even if she truly felt he might).
 
roguenuke said:
I've never met the woman, nor talked about her to anyone outside my own family, until now. I was in my teens when this occurred, but still smart enough to read people even back then. IF a person really feels humiliated about something that happened to them, they don't keep talking about it. They don't continue to bring it up over and over again to make money off it. If she's embarrassed about anything, it's the fact that people found out about it before she was ready to tell, and that led to more of her personal life coming out as a result. She kept a stained dress for months (if not longer). That's disgusting. And considering how she initially reacted to it coming out, I highly doubt she felt like she was a victim or that she would need to use the dress to prove an affair. She was probably pissed when Clinton initially lied about it. In fact, she said that was her biggest problem with his book and how she was mentioned, was basically he blew her off as not that important to him (which I somehow doubt he ever led her to believe, even if she truly felt he might).
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You have never been humiliated internationally. And because of that, she was denied positions throughout her life because of the stigma attached to this affair even though she completed her studies in Europe and well qualified for the positions she applied. I don't know where you get she has talked about this affair ongoing as nothing has come from her mouth for over a decade. It is the press that has relentlessly watched her every move. Maybe that is what you have confused. She was a young woman who made a bad choice and has paid dearly for it. To the point of contemplating suicide. So get off your high horse because you have no right to be there.
 
cpwill said:
:shrug: you are the one who provided the numbers. What do you think she would have been able to command in salary had she never had the affair? As you point out, she didn't exactly come from destitution or lack for an education. That's the baseline, which is why I accounted strictly for the income which flowed from it.
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Who knows? Especially since she was having another affair prior to that, so if that one had come out, possibly not a lot.

She would certainly not be so well known of a name.

She had a degree in psychology. So what does a psychologist possibly make? A psychiatrist can make about $160K a year, but she would have needed a lot more education. Someone with just a psychology degree can make just under $100K a year at the highest paying jobs. Starting salary for a master's degree holder (which she has now) is about $40K. So lets say she goes up $10K a year every 5 years starting from there, she would have earned about $3.3M in the past 20 years (pretty much a generous estimate).

Now, she's already made over $2M at least (likely more) mainly because of the notoriety she gained from this affair. This book deal will add another $12M to whatever that total really is.

Monica Lewinsky And The $12 Million Affair - Forbes
 
MaggieD said:
Monica Lewinski was used and abused by the President of the United States. She was barely an adult. He should, for the rest of his sorry life, be embarrassed by his actions. He's a scum bag. So's his wife.
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Yes but you have to remember. The was years into the age of consent. The age of consent in DC back then was 16. It probably still is. I doubt the politicians in DC want that changed!
 
vesper said:
You have never been humiliated internationally. And because of that, she was denied positions throughout her life because of the stigma attached to this affair even though she completed her studies in Europe and well qualified for the positions she applied. I don't know where you get she has talked about this affair ongoing as nothing has come from her mouth for over a decade. It is the press that has relentlessly watched her every move. Maybe that is what you have confused. She was a young woman who made a bad choice and has paid dearly for it. To the point of contemplating suicide. So get off your high horse because you have no right to be there.
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She was also given positions because of that notoriety. She hasn't truly been left destitute. She made over a million and a half in about the first year or two after the scandal.

Heck, I even overestimated how many years its been since the scandal and gave her making over $3.3 M for a 20 year period had she used the degree she has now (after the scandal) to get a job and maintain it for 20 years. She is making 4x that amount on this book deal alone. She has probably earned that amount in other deals she has had since the affair.

She has been on several talk shows/late night shows since the affair. There was a biography written about her right after it.

I don't feel sympathy for her for her choice to have an affair with the President. It was her responsibility, her decision, she needs to live with the consequences. The same thing can easily happen to a nobody living in a small town who has an affair with a married man and the whole town finds out about it. (Now, I will say that I feel sympathy for her that it came out, because I personally don't think it was anyone's business. But I don't really think she intended for the affair to remain a secret forever in the first place. Not when she kept that dress and was telling her coworker and others about it.)

In reality, there are probably people who would hire her. Heck, she could easily just change her name if it really is that big of an issue for her trying to get hired. I just doubt it is. I think she's playing everyone to sell her book.
 
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roguenuke said:
She was also given positions because of that notoriety. She hasn't truly been left destitute. She made over a million and a half in about the first year or two after the scandal.

Heck, I even overestimated how many years its been since the scandal and gave her making over $3.3 M for a 20 year period had she used the degree she has now (after the scandal) to get a job and maintain it for 20 years. She is making 4x that amount on this book deal alone. She has probably earned that amount in other deals she has had since the affair.

She has been on several talk shows/late night shows since the affair. There was a biography written about her right after it.

I don't feel sympathy for her for her choice to have an affair with the President. It was her responsibility, her decision, she needs to live with the consequences. The same thing can easily happen to a nobody living in a small town who has an affair with a married man and the whole town finds out about it. (Now, I will say that I feel sympathy for her that it came out, because I personally don't think it was anyone's business. But I don't really think she intended for the affair to remain a secret forever in the first place. Not when she kept that dress and was telling her coworker and others about it.)

In reality, there are probably people who would hire her. Heck, she could easily just change her name if it really is that big of an issue for her trying to get hired. I just doubt it is. I think she's playing everyone to sell her book.
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Evidently the degree she achieved hasn't poured in possibilities because of the scandal.

Why should she have to change her name over a poor judgment in her youth? Because of folks like you? Hello?

This woman has paid deeply for her poor choices. A young woman interning under the president of the U.S. somehow gets treated like trash while the great Billy is excused. Give it a rest.
 
vesper said:
You have never been humiliated internationally. And because of that, she was denied positions throughout her life because of the stigma attached to this affair even though she completed her studies in Europe and well qualified for the positions she applied. I don't know where you get she has talked about this affair ongoing as nothing has come from her mouth for over a decade. It is the press that has relentlessly watched her every move. Maybe that is what you have confused. She was a young woman who made a bad choice and has paid dearly for it. To the point of contemplating suicide. So get off your high horse because you have no right to be there.
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I thought appearing on Saturday Night Live as herself to lampoon the whole affair would have been therapeutic for her......Come on , really.

Yes, it was moronic to be President and trying to pull off such a sexual stunt as that in the White House itself. But as we almost see monthly male politicians seem to think they are invisible as an example the congressman recently caught on his own office cam sucking a friend's wife tongue. So he was a moron and she was 22 years old so not exactly a 17 year old cheerleader.

But to think she has not capitalize off this is foolish. She has already had one book written about it before and it has allowed her many business ventures such as Jenny Craig.

How many more books can we write about a blow job? She should just make a porn video of doing a blow job and call it a day.
 
Crosscheck said:
I thought appearing on Saturday Night Live as herself to lampoon the whole affair would have been therapeutic for her......Come on , really.

Yes, it was moronic to be President and trying to pull off such a sexual stunt as that in the White House itself. But as we almost see monthly male politicians seem to think they are invisible as an example the congressman recently caught on his own office cam sucking a friend's wife tongue. So he was a moron and she was 22 years old so not exactly a 17 year old cheerleader.

But to think she has not capitalize off this is foolish. She has already had one book written about it before and it has allowed her many business ventures such as Jenny Craig.

How many more books can we write about a blow job? She should just make a porn video of doing a blow job and call it a day.
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When you have spent 20 years under the scrutiny of international press over some dumbass thing you have done in your past then maybe you would have the right to judge her. Until then. pffft.
 
vesper said:
This month in Vanity Fair, Monica Lewinsky writes about her affair with President Clinton. Hard to believe she is now 40. How time flies when you are having fun. There are excerpts from the article posted online. She delves into the humiliation of it all and addresses at one time contemplating suicide. She was only 19 years of age when the affair began if I recall correctly but makes it very clear the relationship was consensual. My own opinion is that she paid a heavy price for her poor judgment. But at 19 and having a powerful man such as a president coming on to you, well let's just say I have always held Bill Clinton more responsible because of her age. Now Lewinsky says her current goal, “is to get involved with efforts on behalf of victims of online humiliation and harassment as she suffered and to start speaking on this topic in public forums.”

You can read more here.... Exclusive: Monica Lewinsky Writes About Her Affair with President Clinton | Vanity Fair
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Yup, he was a scumbag for what he did.

But implying she was a teenager is just plain wrong. She was between 22 and 24. Clearly an adult. She was a college graduate. And frankly she was not raped. A college graduate. And I am not sure if she ever denied having a years long affair with her former high school instructor ( a married man) - before she even met Clinton.

But I get it. He was a scumbag, but to portray her as an innocent is just plain silly. She was not a teenager, she was a sexually active college graduate and well into adulthood.

She was hardly naïve. She seemed to know exactly what she was doing - thong flashing and all.
 
vesper said:
Evidently the degree she achieved hasn't poured in possibilities because of the scandal.

Why should she have to change her name over a poor judgment in her youth? Because of folks like you? Hello?

This woman has paid deeply for her poor choices. A young woman interning under the president of the U.S. somehow gets treated like trash while the great Billy is excused. Give it a rest.
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Like me? Do you think I'm making the hiring decisions somewhere? No. But she has proven that she is willing to have affairs with her boss and/or those in a position of authority over her. Why should she get a free pass for that not being taken into considerations when it comes to future employment opportunities? Heck, she has shown that she is willing to use that very notoriety to aid in her getting jobs, why should it not also be expected to work against her in some places as well?

That woman has made a ton of money off of her "poor choices", and is set up right now to make a heck of a lot more. I definitely do not feel bad for her.
 
vesper said:
When you have spent 20 years under the scrutiny of international press over some dumbass thing you have done in your past then maybe you would have the right to judge her. Until then. pffft.
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Really? She's spent "20 years under the scrutiny of the international press"? When's the last time you heard anything about her before this?
 
year2late said:
Yup, he was a scumbag for what he did.

But implying she was a teenager is just plain wrong. She was between 22 and 24. Clearly an adult. She was a college graduate. And frankly she was not raped. A college graduate. And I am not sure if she ever denied having a years long affair with her former high school instructor ( a married man) - before she even met Clinton.

But I get it. He was a scumbag, but to portray her as an innocent is just plain silly. She was not a teenager, she was a sexually active college graduate and well into adulthood.

She was hardly naïve. She seemed to know exactly what she was doing - thong flashing and all.
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It has been validated in other posts she was 22. Got it. I was going by memory when I mentioned 19 and made that perfectly clear. Care to share any of the things you did at 22 on the international stage? I love how people are so free to judge another when they couldn't pass the same judgment they would on themselves. Yet calling Clinton a scumbag is all that is required. hmmmm.
 
Lord of Planar said:
Yes but you have to remember. The was years into the age of consent. The age of consent in DC back then was 16. It probably still is. I doubt the politicians in DC want that changed!
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Six years into age of consent.
 
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