Transcript for Monica Lewinsky: ‘I lost my sense of self’: Part 11
?????? 20 years later, I always say the biggest victim of the whole story is Monica Lewinsky. It’s been hard for her to have a life. She will always be defined as that woman. I waited a long time to be able to express to the how very sorry I am. I wouldn’t dream of asking Chelsea and Mrs. Clinton to forgive me, but I would ask them to know that I am very sorry for what happened and for what they’ve been through. So, in the me too era, this all looks different. The power differential between a president and an intern is so extraordinary that even if it’s consensual, it still raises questions. There are people who look at the incidents of the ’90s, and they say, a president of the United States cannot have a consensual relationship with an intern. The power imbalance is too great. — Who was an adult. So, there was an investigation and it, as I believe, came out in the right place. Hilary Clinton will always see this as a private matter between two consenting adults. Monica Lewinsky has lately said that the power differential between a president and herself is more troubling than she felt at the time it had been. The president recently was asked, “Would you apologize to Monica Lewinsky today?” Did you ever apologize to her? Do you feel like you owe her an apology? No, I do — I do not — I never talked to her. But I did say publicly on more than one occasion that I was sorry. In the context of the me too movement, about apology seems very insufficient, and I wonder what holds him back. Clinton, overall, had a successful presidency, but this one big episode, this whole mess with Monica, this marred his presidency. Bill Clinton’s worked for the past 20 years to repair his reputation. He’s done good work around the world. And yet, it comes back to this. Does he ever escape it? Is it ever forgotten? Monica, who was kind of cast away 20 years ago, has become a voice in the me too movement. Anyone who is suffering from shame and public humiliation needs to know one thing — you can survive it.
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
