Monica Lewinsky Opens Up About Rising Above Her Big ‘Mistake’
Monica Lewinsky Image by Getty Image
Monica Lewinsky opened up in a speech Wednesday about recovering from her “mistake,” referring to her affair with former President Bill Clinton.
Lewinsky spoke to a crowd of celebrities at The Hollywood Reporter’s Power Women in Entertainment conference, but her message was geared toward a group of teenagers who were there as part of the publication’s mentorship program, USA Today reported.
“All of us here this morning, outside of you who are in the program, have something in common,” she said, addressing the teenagers. “We have all made a mistake in our career that had consequences. We can all probably agree that when it comes to being in this room, the worst mistake, or the mistake with the worst consequences, I win. Hands down.”
Lewinsky continued, sharing a story from her experience testifying before a grand jury about the scandal that rocked the nation when she was a 22-year-old White House intern. At the time, a stranger offered her advice that has stuck with her to this day.
“Monica, none of us in this room is perfect,” she recalled the woman saying. “We all fall and we fall several times again. The only difference between my age and when I was your age, is now I get up faster.”
“I have now lived longer to know that she was 100 percent right,” she said.
Lewinsky then waxed poetic about the surprising value of mistakes.
“Painful as they may be, mistakes may give you the chance to become that stronger, rebuilt woman; a more resilient and expanded self,” she said. “When that mistake eventually knocks on your door, I hope that you think back to today. Remember everyone in this room. And remember that we have all been where you are, and we are living and breathing.”
Alyssa Fisher is a news writer at the Forward. Email her at [email protected], or follow her on Twitter at @alyssalfisher
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we need 500 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Our Goal: 500 gifts during our Passover Pledge Drive!
