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So Monica Lewinsky is cashing in (Original Post) samplegirl Aug 2021 OP
Ryan Murphy should probably stick to American Horror Story nt Shermann Aug 2021 #1
The first two seasons of American Crime were nothing short of fantastic dsc Aug 2021 #80
Yes, American Crime was excellent. mountain grammy Aug 2021 #222
Fanne Foxe would be proud bucolic_frolic Aug 2021 #2
Wonder if they'll show the cigar trick. Haggard Celine Aug 2021 #3
I remember William Bennet was all aflutter. DemocratSinceBirth Aug 2021 #6
William Bennet. I forgot all about that sanctimonious twat. Haggard Celine Aug 2021 #12
Probably gambling DemocratSinceBirth Aug 2021 #13
This message was self-deleted by its author Haggard Celine Aug 2021 #16
That was not a "first," it was a set of salacious smear questions Hortensis Aug 2021 #44
As well she should. A HERETIC I AM Aug 2021 #4
Her entire life has been derailed by something stupid she did when she was 22. meadowlander Aug 2021 #9
Agreed. zuul Aug 2021 #40
Yeah but ahe doesn't need to continue to shame herself onetexan Aug 2021 #57
I can't watch it samplegirl Aug 2021 #77
Chelsea & her kids as well onetexan Aug 2021 #79
I'm going to go out on a limb and bet Hillary has LONG since moved on from that. Treefrog Aug 2021 #177
Bill could have not get involved, issue solved! Nt USALiberal Aug 2021 #96
Right; as if FORESIGHT is 20/20 onetexan Aug 2021 #106
These Monday morning QBs are silent on Trump's 43 victims. live love laugh Aug 2021 #128
Shame the Clintons? Treefrog Aug 2021 #168
Not anymore he doesn't. onetexan Aug 2021 #171
Neither does she. Treefrog Aug 2021 #175
Whatever. She dsn't seem to feel any shame but she shouldnt subject the clintons to. onetexan Aug 2021 #181
While that's true, remember that Clinton was not helpless in all this. CTyankee Aug 2021 #199
How is she shaming herself? Dorian Gray Aug 2021 #226
Hmm... Sur Zobra Aug 2021 #64
Yes, but this thread is about whether or not Monica Lewinsky has the right to talk about it meadowlander Aug 2021 #88
Like it or not her life IS defined by it. And will be. nt live love laugh Aug 2021 #130
And that itself is a problem. Withywindle Aug 2021 #246
This wasn't just any fling ... some consequences live love laugh Aug 2021 #254
I apologize Sur Zobra Aug 2021 #238
I wouldn't call it 50/50 Zeitghost Aug 2021 #112
Some of us called it that at the time, and continue to do so. n/t Ms. Toad Aug 2021 #140
This! Treefrog Aug 2021 #178
yep Dorian Gray Aug 2021 #227
Agreed BoycottTimHortons Aug 2021 #143
Maybe it wasn't derailed at all. fescuerescue Aug 2021 #116
She was bullied and shamed in public for years to the point where she was suicidal, meadowlander Aug 2021 #129
She was an adult and made adult decisions fescuerescue Aug 2021 #162
She made millions in the immedaite aftermath of the scandal. joshcryer Aug 2021 #164
Thank you. AbnerBunny Aug 2021 #15
HELLO, DARLIN'!!! A HERETIC I AM Aug 2021 #72
Sure is! AbnerBunny Aug 2021 #87
Mixed breed or what? Will we see pictures? tblue37 Aug 2021 #109
A puppy!?! YAY!!! A HERETIC I AM Aug 2021 #123
Agreed NQAS Aug 2021 #32
Nor would I. Plus the power differential made consent a gray area. femmedem Aug 2021 #46
The thong display says otherwise. nt pnwmom Aug 2021 #149
Yup! But he should have known better, too. electric_blue68 Aug 2021 #211
Sure. They were both stupid and selfish. pnwmom Aug 2021 #216
She was -not- his victim. Linda Tripp & Co are the villians here. electric_blue68 Aug 2021 #217
Young people are frequently horny Withywindle Aug 2021 #250
+1000! Nt USALiberal Aug 2021 #93
She and Bill committed adultery and hurt Hillary out of pure selfishness. pnwmom Aug 2021 #148
I agree a gazillion percent. Mossfern Aug 2021 #151
Yes, and it wasn't her first affair with a married man. betsuni Aug 2021 #153
Except Lewinsky has always tried cashing in on the scandal. joshcryer Aug 2021 #163
This 100% oasis Aug 2021 #210
+1 betsuni Aug 2021 #215
She was always reassuring. 'He would never cheat on you, Kate. He loves you so much." Percy Aug 2021 #236
Who? paleotn Aug 2021 #5
Broke ass bitch! samplegirl Aug 2021 #10
Wow. n/t demmiblue Aug 2021 #66
I do t think samplegirl Aug 2021 #81
Really? msfiddlestix Aug 2021 #71
I can't believe it still stands. demmiblue Aug 2021 #82
Sadly, I can. meadowlander Aug 2021 #89
I'm frankly astonished with these disgusting attacks on Lewinsky msfiddlestix Aug 2021 #165
Same poster has a rather interesting thread in the lounge right now. Treefrog Aug 2021 #182
Why do you feel the need to be so disgusting in the ways you refer to her? Scrivener7 Aug 2021 #121
Thank you. Treefrog Aug 2021 #173
Message auto-removed Name removed Aug 2021 #152
Nah, that she is not. Treefrog Aug 2021 #186
Guess sexist slurs are in vogue Lancero Aug 2021 #248
I have little sympathy for her, but even less for Linda Tripp. brush Aug 2021 #7
Well this proves how remorseful she is. live love laugh Aug 2021 #19
I heard her say Linda Tripp was the one who convinced her to save the dress. Maraya1969 Aug 2021 #27
Yeah, Tripp was the villain, a precursor of the scorched earth repugs of today. brush Aug 2021 #36
IMHO, Lucianne Goldberg was the mastermind. She "commissioned" oasis Aug 2021 #139
Oh...yeahhhh... Lucianne Goldberg. A name I haven't heard in a very long time, or remembered! electric_blue68 Aug 2021 #218
Tripp, a holdover from Poppa Bush's administration, made contact oasis Aug 2021 #230
No kidding! Forgot LG was a publisher. electric_blue68 Aug 2021 #231
Imagine being 48 years old riverwalker Aug 2021 #8
She contributed great ammo for Trump and other republicans milestogo Aug 2021 #23
A whole generation of media wannabees fescuerescue Aug 2021 #118
She pioneered controversy for fame and fortune. joshcryer Aug 2021 #166
This is not her only contribution to the world. AT ALL Withywindle Aug 2021 #244
I may take some flack for this but bottomofthehill Aug 2021 #11
First of all, I don't give a damn . That was Bill Clinton's private life so a big who cares. Demsrule86 Aug 2021 #17
Your job is not your private life Sympthsical Aug 2021 #54
+1000 smirkymonkey Aug 2021 #61
+1 leftstreet Aug 2021 #68
Monica should have been fired for flashing her panties Nixie Aug 2021 #156
Well said! Treefrog Aug 2021 #179
Great reply. nt Celerity Aug 2021 #245
I agree with you. zuul Aug 2021 #37
+1 iemanja Aug 2021 #42
You are ok with me... multigraincracker Aug 2021 #48
No flack from me. I agree. femmedem Aug 2021 #50
I am 100% in agreement. n/t demmiblue Aug 2021 #55
Well said. Xavier Breath Aug 2021 #86
+1000 nt USALiberal Aug 2021 #97
I agree, but Linda Tripp and the rethugs are the ones who ecstatic Aug 2021 #105
Linda Tripp is human garbage. bottomofthehill Aug 2021 #108
Flack from me: You're right and you should say it Withywindle Aug 2021 #145
That was years ago...I doubt Hillary gives a damn. A big who cares. I won't watch it... Demsrule86 Aug 2021 #14
She won't be cashing in from me. Boomerproud Aug 2021 #18
. WhiskeyGrinder Aug 2021 #20
Yes it is good for her -- politically and financially. nt live love laugh Aug 2021 #22
Why not make it work for her? WhiskeyGrinder Aug 2021 #24
Why should it work for her? She's not some innocent victim. live love laugh Aug 2021 #53
What's the real story, and how is she changing it? WhiskeyGrinder Aug 2021 #62
A clip from Arrested Development...... MyOwnPeace Aug 2021 #30
I'm sure some RepubliQkkkan financier is footing the bill. nt live love laugh Aug 2021 #21
Lol WhiskeyGrinder Aug 2021 #25
That well-known radical, fire-breathing right-winger . . . uh . . . Ryan Murphy n/t Sympthsical Aug 2021 #90
Heh. WhiskeyGrinder Aug 2021 #95
Monica was dragged through the mud. She actually moved to Europe to get away Maraya1969 Aug 2021 #26
I'll go further... Arazi Aug 2021 #33
Her post-scandal life has been a constant Merry-Go-Round Grokenstein Aug 2021 #28
She inserts herself for attention then plays victim. nt live love laugh Aug 2021 #127
I'm looking forward to the Donald Trump Stormy Daniels affair mini series edbermac Aug 2021 #29
Honestly though, Hillary could have divorced him sboatcar Aug 2021 #31
Maybe they love each other. Some married people do, even if their spouses are flawed. tblue37 Aug 2021 #110
I suspect they might have an "arrangement" Withywindle Aug 2021 #247
I am disgusted NQAS Aug 2021 #34
Unfortunately, it's utterly unsurprising. WhiskeyGrinder Aug 2021 #35
Yep. It's pretty mind-boggling. zuul Aug 2021 #39
+1000 FreeState Aug 2021 #47
Totally expected Doc Sportello Aug 2021 #51
A lot of people are two-faced. If it's somebody you hate, yeah! JanMichael Aug 2021 #60
Hillary herself once said, "He's a hard dog to keep on the porch." tblue37 Aug 2021 #111
I'm not surprised , to be honest. Disappointed, yes. Surprised, no. n/t demmiblue Aug 2021 #63
I am absolutely shocked to find people still attacking Monica Lewinsky and defending Bill Clinton greenjar_01 Aug 2021 #69
It's like people are living in an episode of Mad Men Sympthsical Aug 2021 #91
Me too renate Aug 2021 #75
It definitely exposes some people!! Nt USALiberal Aug 2021 #98
Party loyalty is more important to some people than good morals and decency SunImp Aug 2021 #138
Yeah, me too. yardwork Aug 2021 #132
THANK YOU FOR THIS Dorian Gray Aug 2021 #228
I really hate it when I see Democrats acting mean like Republicans. We are better than that! Maraya1969 Aug 2021 #38
Monica's life is ruined iemanja Aug 2021 #41
Surely she hasn't samplegirl Aug 2021 #78
... demmiblue Aug 2021 #84
This message was self-deleted by its author USALiberal Aug 2021 #104
Her skills? She gave a guy a blow job. It's not uncommon. Scrivener7 Aug 2021 #114
I'm sick of the misogynist bullshit iemanja Aug 2021 #117
Yeah, finding these type posts appalling. Treefrog Aug 2021 #174
Can't think of a more boring subject Lettuce Be Aug 2021 #43
Lol, ok! Nt USALiberal Aug 2021 #99
How about a Netflix series on Ken Starr's attempt to cover up thucythucy Aug 2021 #45
All of this! And I would LOVE to see the "Ken Starr is a rape enabler" Netflix series. Scrivener7 Aug 2021 #124
THAT I Would Watch ProfessorGAC Aug 2021 #185
I've seen the ads, looks like some republicon sleaze shit spanone Aug 2021 #49
Sarc right? So much for radical feminism. JanMichael Aug 2021 #52
We live in a misogynist culture iemanja Aug 2021 #120
I figured out a few years ago that she had no regrets about the affair JI7 Aug 2021 #56
She seems like she's grown into a perfectly decent woman Sympthsical Aug 2021 #58
I wish her well and plan on watching. demmiblue Aug 2021 #59
I'm looking forward to watching this too. beaglelover Aug 2021 #73
The OJ season was fantastic as well dsc Aug 2021 #83
If you can, watch one episode Sympthsical Aug 2021 #94
I gotta admit. I didn't give 2 shits at the time (the whole circus that came after, not the loss of Carlitos Brigante Sep 2021 #260
+1000, me too! Nt USALiberal Aug 2021 #100
Also Clive Owen plays Bill Clinton iemanja Aug 2021 #207
Makes sense to me. David__77 Aug 2021 #65
Um, Monica Lewinsky deserves every cent greenjar_01 Aug 2021 #67
She can tell her side of the story. You know -- that freedom of speech thingy? left-of-center2012 Aug 2021 #70
She should have divorced Bill's ass right after they left office msfiddlestix Aug 2021 #74
While I myself had trouble understanding why Hillary didn't iemanja Aug 2021 #197
This thread is toxic Politicub Aug 2021 #76
Sing it! Dorian Gray Aug 2021 #229
I have no idea how much she is making for this dsc Aug 2021 #85
Yes, thank you SkylineChili Aug 2021 #103
Great point about her thwarting Starr. And sadly, the sexism seems to be coming from women. Scrivener7 Aug 2021 #115
Bill should have known better. Nt USALiberal Aug 2021 #92
He was the most powerful man in the world at that time. He shudda just kept her out of the White CTyankee Aug 2021 #101
So true CTyankee! +1000! Nt USALiberal Aug 2021 #102
He was incredibly foolish getting involved with an intern with a crush. betsuni Aug 2021 #107
I'm sure she was thinking dreams of glory. But he could have put a stop to her advances early on. CTyankee Aug 2021 #158
One trick pony. kskiska Aug 2021 #113
I have a question, as a Gen Z person violasays Aug 2021 #119
See post 85 for answers to part of this. She was young, she was foolish. She had a Scrivener7 Aug 2021 #122
Thank you very much violasays Aug 2021 #134
What a load of nonsense iemanja Aug 2021 #125
This message was self-deleted by its author violasays Aug 2021 #135
Never mind violasays Aug 2021 #136
My, aren't you sensitive iemanja Aug 2021 #137
Lol, add me too! USALiberal Aug 2021 #160
I don't see anyone blaming her for a man's actions BoycottTimHortons Aug 2021 #142
What culpability? iemanja Aug 2021 #144
+1 Withywindle Aug 2021 #147
"She had sex with a married man. Do you consider all women who have done that culpable?" BoycottTimHortons Aug 2021 #190
You're intentionally misreading my point about the Cuomo women iemanja Aug 2021 #196
Sure, Jan. BoycottTimHortons Aug 2021 #214
Please show me iemanja Aug 2021 #223
Well said. Percy Aug 2021 #237
She has a sense of humor about it Withywindle Aug 2021 #146
So she can have a sense of humor about it but others cannot? BoycottTimHortons Aug 2021 #192
Well, yes! Withywindle Aug 2021 #243
+1000 USALiberal Aug 2021 #159
Perfect response! Treefrog Aug 2021 #184
She was the idiot who gave the President an eyeful of her thong underwear, pnwmom Aug 2021 #150
Lol, so bill couldn't control himself??? Nt USALiberal Aug 2021 #161
She never changed her story about what happened but her interpretation has evolved as she's matured. femmedem Aug 2021 #154
The problem is she had a habit of engaging in affairs with married men. joshcryer Aug 2021 #169
If you choose to cheat on your spouse BoycottTimHortons Aug 2021 #193
How convenient for her. In the interim, the "power differential" theory has sprung up pnwmom Aug 2021 #170
Where did your peers ever get a narrative like that? eShirl Aug 2021 #157
That is what I was trying to ascertain violasays Aug 2021 #194
I don't think she has ever said or done anything that would lead Scrivener7 Aug 2021 #219
Lewinsky has never said it wasn't consensual. joshcryer Aug 2021 #167
I do not believe that she has ever said that her ptsd stemmed directly from gross abuse of power. femmedem Aug 2021 #172
That is a true distinction. joshcryer Aug 2021 #187
"Clinton was her third conquest." Exactly, and that actually Nixie Aug 2021 #180
One of the ex's made a memoir this past month... joshcryer Aug 2021 #188
I'm glad one of the spouses is stepping up and writing her side of things. Nixie Aug 2021 #195
third affair? I didn't pay super attention to the whole thing. I don't even remember... electric_blue68 Aug 2021 #221
proposition?... electric_blue68 Aug 2021 #126
I don't know about anyone else Grokenstein Aug 2021 #131
not your average action, but maybe that was influence from Linda Tripp electric_blue68 Aug 2021 #133
You've also probably never had sex with a President Polybius Aug 2021 #189
I agree with the "serious intellectual simpatico." betsuni Aug 2021 #141
Good for her. Captain Stern Aug 2021 #155
I don't think it was ever about Hillary. It was Bill and Monica making their own choices. jalan48 Aug 2021 #176
A 49 year-old married man ... left-of-center2012 Aug 2021 #183
The majority of the posts on the tread are gross on a liberal site. Cuthbert Allgood Aug 2021 #191
Disgusting isn't it? ripcord Aug 2021 #208
who saves a semen-stained dress? bigtree Aug 2021 #220
Who slut shames? Cuthbert Allgood Aug 2021 #224
some anonymous posters? bigtree Aug 2021 #240
Poor Hillary has endured enough, but that's Bill's fault, not Monica's. n/t totodeinhere Aug 2021 #198
People forget that although Clinton was complicit, it was Lewinski that pursued him.... George II Aug 2021 #200
Supervisors do not engage sexual relations with underlings. Period wellst0nev0ter Aug 2021 #201
Nothing I said was addressed by you, including me saying CLINTON WAS COMPLICIT! Did you miss that? George II Aug 2021 #203
Your attempt to shift the blame was entirely noted wellst0nev0ter Aug 2021 #204
No one said they are allowed. Period. So what were you saying about "shifting"? George II Aug 2021 #205
You suggested Lewinsky shares at least half the blame for the affair wellst0nev0ter Aug 2021 #206
In what way did I say that? You're doing it again wellst0nev0ter, saying I said something I didn't. George II Aug 2021 #209
The president had an affair with an intern, BUT! wellst0nev0ter Aug 2021 #212
And, you did it again, wellst0nev0ter. George II Aug 2021 #213
Interesting. You've made four posts in the last 28 days, all four directed toward me. Wha? George II Aug 2021 #255
You really want to know the reason? wellst0nev0ter Aug 2021 #256
Sure. George II Aug 2021 #257
Okey-doke wellst0nev0ter Aug 2021 #258
I'm sure there is a lot about her life and perspective you don't understand. Cuthbert Allgood Aug 2021 #225
Lol, nice try! Nt USALiberal Aug 2021 #232
The treatment of Lewinsky was horrendous Azathoth Aug 2021 #202
How was she "exploited ruthlessly"? And "cut loose" is a reach. live love laugh Aug 2021 #252
Who cares? SoonerPride Aug 2021 #233
Guilty parties: Monica and Bill Jakes Progress Aug 2021 #234
She was never a decent person. I wouldn't expect that now. nt live love laugh Aug 2021 #253
I just had a thought. Hillary-haters always called her too ambitious, conniving, weathervane, betsuni Aug 2021 #235
She might as well, everyone else has ... sigh. 🤔 nt Raine Aug 2021 #239
F THAT, Monica Lewinsky was put through hell & poor Hillary helped krawhitham Aug 2021 #241
What do you mean by "poor Hillary helped" put Monica through hell? betsuni Aug 2021 #249
That "poor Hillary" statement is crazy. Whores rule I guess. nt live love laugh Aug 2021 #251
I doubt you will attempt to explain this stupid statement. Jakes Progress Sep 2021 #259
Good for Monica! budkin Aug 2021 #242

dsc

(53,397 posts)
80. The first two seasons of American Crime were nothing short of fantastic
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 08:05 PM
Aug 2021

He did the OJ Simpson case and the Versace case. Both of those won multiple emmys and deservedly so.

bucolic_frolic

(55,136 posts)
2. Fanne Foxe would be proud
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 05:10 PM
Aug 2021

and all careers are a long series of well orchestrated chess moves

Thanks for OP

DemocratSinceBirth

(101,852 posts)
6. I remember William Bennet was all aflutter.
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 05:15 PM
Aug 2021

As if they were the first people on the planet to put cylindrical objects in orifices

Response to DemocratSinceBirth (Reply #6)

Hortensis

(58,785 posts)
44. That was not a "first," it was a set of salacious smear questions
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 06:18 PM
Aug 2021

that Kavanaugh suggested that were far too sleazy for even Snow's swiftboat project to include. They weren't officially asked of Lewinsky, but of course, as you indicate, the sleazebags did USE them.

A HERETIC I AM

(24,876 posts)
4. As well she should.
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 05:12 PM
Aug 2021

She has been absolutely pilloried over the years for a consensual act with another adult.

I wouldn't wish what she has been put through on anyone.

meadowlander

(5,133 posts)
9. Her entire life has been derailed by something stupid she did when she was 22.
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 05:16 PM
Aug 2021

She has interesting reflections on her own life and on shame and public scandal in the Internet age which are independent of an affair she had almost 30 years ago and the impact it had on Hillary Clinton.

onetexan

(13,913 posts)
57. Yeah but ahe doesn't need to continue to shame herself
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 06:45 PM
Aug 2021

AND the Clintons like this. She is now just a greedy opportunist.

 

Treefrog

(4,170 posts)
177. I'm going to go out on a limb and bet Hillary has LONG since moved on from that.
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 12:29 PM
Aug 2021

She’s just fine.

onetexan

(13,913 posts)
181. Whatever. She dsn't seem to feel any shame but she shouldnt subject the clintons to.
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 12:38 PM
Aug 2021

Its shameful what she's doing.

CTyankee

(68,201 posts)
199. While that's true, remember that Clinton was not helpless in all this.
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 04:34 PM
Aug 2021

Please remember that Bill Clinton was our POTUS at the time. He commanded all of the armed services all over the world. He could have stopped this whole thing from happening! Starting with banning her from the White House.

Dorian Gray

(13,850 posts)
226. How is she shaming herself?
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 09:50 PM
Aug 2021

Or the Clintons?

I mean, the dude made the choice to fool around with her.

She has every right to have a say in her story.

Hilary chose to stay with him after HE humiliated himself.

 

Sur Zobra

(3,428 posts)
64. Hmm...
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 06:50 PM
Aug 2021

Didn’t Bill Clinton do something stupid as well? He was around 52 years old when he did that stupid thing. They are each 50% responsible for that stupid thing

meadowlander

(5,133 posts)
88. Yes, but this thread is about whether or not Monica Lewinsky has the right to talk about it
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 08:27 PM
Aug 2021

or if she has to crawl under a rock until the day she dies. I'm not talking about Bill Clinton - that's a whole different thread.

She is a human being who exists independently of something that happened thirty years ago and should not have her entire life defined by it. I notice Bill has not, despite having a lot more culpability as you point out, and neither has anyone else involved.

Withywindle

(9,989 posts)
246. And that itself is a problem.
Mon Aug 30, 2021, 03:20 AM
Aug 2021

I don't think a woman's life should be ruined by an ill-advised fling in their early 20s. Lord knows I had plenty of those.

The Repukes were desperate to haul Clinton into court for any reason at all they could find.

His affair with Lewinsky was sleazy but not illegal. They were both of legal age and she consented....although there was a serious power imbalance there. They tried to impeach him for perjory, not the affair itself. Adultery isn't illegal. Perjory is. Clinton should never have denied it. There would have been no case if he hadn't lied.

Presidents fuck women other than their wives regularly. This isn't rare. JFK had MANY affairs - Monica at least got off easier than Marilyn Monroe, who was probably murdered for her links to him.

Anyway, Monica has had a whole ass life since then. She knows this will shadow her until she dies, obviously, but on Twitter she is really clever and funny, and if you're on Twitter she's a good person to follow. She's a staunch Democrat even still, and she's very witty.

I look forward to hearing her side of the story.

 

Zeitghost

(4,557 posts)
112. I wouldn't call it 50/50
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 09:47 PM
Aug 2021

He was her boss and the President, that's not an equal power dynamic. Had he been a CEO and it been 25 year later people would be calling it sexual harassment in the workplace.

Dorian Gray

(13,850 posts)
227. yep
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 09:52 PM
Aug 2021

She's taking back her story. Good for Monica. Hope Hillary can do the same. Bill can suck eggs.

fescuerescue

(4,475 posts)
116. Maybe it wasn't derailed at all.
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 09:59 PM
Aug 2021

It's possible it made her career.

Maybe without this, she would be sweeping floors at Walmart. someone never heard of.

meadowlander

(5,133 posts)
129. She was bullied and shamed in public for years to the point where she was suicidal,
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 10:48 PM
Aug 2021

she was unemployed for years, people suggested she would have to change her name and appearance to have any hope of getting a job.

So no, it didn't "make her career".



Suggest watching this from the 13:55 mark.

She had a college degree and enough prospects to get a coveted job as a White House intern. I doubt her career trajectory if she had never meet Bill Clinton would have been unemployed for thirty years except for the odd "I'm a celebrity get me out of here" guest stint.

fescuerescue

(4,475 posts)
162. She was an adult and made adult decisions
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 08:50 AM
Aug 2021

And has regrets. Havene't we all?

She's not on skid row. She actually pretty damn wealthy to be "unemployed" for 30 years.

We never know where the fork in the road takes us and what would have been. But she has a dream life compared to most Americans.

https://rare.us/entertainment-and-culture/monica-lewisnky-net-worth/

joshcryer

(62,536 posts)
164. She made millions in the immedaite aftermath of the scandal.
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 08:55 AM
Aug 2021

She was a light night comedy's easy person to joke about because we'd see her on TV doing interviews, Jenny Craig ads, and she even had her own dating show. She cashed in from the beginning. She was truly a perfect example of someone going viral and attaining fame and making money off of it. It's just that it was so long ago a lot of people forgot. Her PR team brought her "back" impeccably. Her rebranding was brilliant. A victim of the political elite and a powerful man who went through life isolated and who wants to tell her story. It is genius.

AbnerBunny

(1,476 posts)
15. Thank you.
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 05:21 PM
Aug 2021

All of them went through too much shit over a private matter.

——-The poster formerly known as Liberal Jesus Freak 😉 😘

AbnerBunny

(1,476 posts)
87. Sure is!
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 08:27 PM
Aug 2021

We’re going out of town tomorrow to pick up a puppy-first puppy in 22 years and first dog in 7 1/2 years. I can’t believe how nervous/excited I am! How are you?

A HERETIC I AM

(24,876 posts)
123. A puppy!?! YAY!!!
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 10:19 PM
Aug 2021

I want to get a dog so bad...I envy you! Your new fur baby couldn't ask for more loving parents!

I'm good. I stay very busy. I'm leaving on a trip tonight at 1:30 AM that goes from here to Charleston, SC, then makes a stop in West Virginia and then to Queens, NY. I haven't driven a tractor trailer across the GW Bridge in over 10 years and haven't been on a surface street in any of the boroughs since 2005! From NY we come all the way down to West Palm Beach, then back up to Long Island, down to Philly and then home to Jax. I think it takes 5 days. First time I'm running this one, but luckily with a guy I've run with before and get along with well.

I've been doing a lot of flying across country, filling in where they are short-handed. Just since the 1st of the year I've been to Chicago for 3 weeks, Oregon and Washington, Montana, Kansas City and West Texas two times. Most of those were at least 2 week stays. I flew at least once a month all through last year as well, once getting on a 737 in April of '20 that only had about 25 passengers!

It's nice to see you are still around! Stay safe and enjoy your new puppers! And put up a picture thread when you get him home!!!

NQAS

(10,749 posts)
32. Agreed
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 06:02 PM
Aug 2021

I get the impression that she has spent more than 20 years not cashing in and trying to live a normal life. If the Clintons had left public life that might have been possible. But as long as they were in the public eye the story wouldn’t die.

femmedem

(8,561 posts)
46. Nor would I. Plus the power differential made consent a gray area.
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 06:25 PM
Aug 2021

She said for decades that she wasn't a victim of Bill Clinton's, that it was consensual, but in more recent years she has said that although it wasn't assault, it was an abuse of power.

pnwmom

(110,261 posts)
216. Sure. They were both stupid and selfish.
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 07:03 PM
Aug 2021

But Monica wasn't Bill's victim. She was the victim of Linda and various R's and members of the press.

Withywindle

(9,989 posts)
250. Young people are frequently horny
Mon Aug 30, 2021, 03:36 AM
Aug 2021

They will flirt with older people they're attracted to, in the workplace. The older person really does need to say no.

It's not rape, it was consensual, they were both legal adults, I'm sure they both enjoyed it. (I see some weird undercurrent here that thinks that women aren't legitimately horny and we only have sex for money or prestige. No, dudes. Some women are absolutely driven by the energy in our crotch just as much as men are, and we're prone to make mistakes for the exact same reason. The pussy wants what it wants, and it's not always what the woman's brain wants when she's not in the horny zone. But women have the horny zone just like men do.)

But Clinton REALLY should have said no. That was his job as the ultimate senior staff guy. It was an abuse of power. It was his job to tell an intern that they could not have sex ethically.

pnwmom

(110,261 posts)
148. She and Bill committed adultery and hurt Hillary out of pure selfishness.
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 04:05 AM
Aug 2021

No, I don't feel sorry for her.

Mossfern

(4,716 posts)
151. I agree a gazillion percent.
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 04:18 AM
Aug 2021

Hillary is the victim in this situation and doesn't need to have her nose rubbed in it by greedy exploitative people.
Made to relive that trauma to her ...for what?

betsuni

(29,078 posts)
153. Yes, and it wasn't her first affair with a married man.
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 04:58 AM
Aug 2021

She tells about it in "Monica's Story."

Extremely dangerous seducing the president of the United States, and did Bill never see "Fatal Attraction"?

joshcryer

(62,536 posts)
163. Except Lewinsky has always tried cashing in on the scandal.
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 08:52 AM
Aug 2021

She got $1.5 million for her first book deal, millions for being a spokesman for Jenny Craig ads, was the host of a dating show called Mr. Personality. Started a handbag business. Doing interviews and going on shows throughout the period from 1999 to 2004.

What happened was she wasn't as successful as she would have hoped to be. In 2005 she dropped out of the limelight. She had made her millions.

Then suddenly, out of no where, she returns as the #metoo movement makes its rise and Clinton runs for President. There is no question in my mind it was a calculated move by her PR team and of course it was highly successful.

But let's be clear, everyone is cashing in on the tabloid aspect of the scandal. There's still money to be made there. Hell, Lewinsky had an affair with her teacher in the late 90s, Andy Bleiler, and even his ex wife has come out with a book detailing the situation. It wouldn't even surprise me if it was Lewinsky's idea since at the time they were close friends and Lewinsky sent a note asking for forgiveness.

Percy

(721 posts)
236. She was always reassuring. 'He would never cheat on you, Kate. He loves you so much."
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 11:53 PM
Aug 2021

... said Monica to the woman who's husband she was having a 5 year affair with.

What a stunning capacity for duplicity.

msfiddlestix

(8,178 posts)
165. I'm frankly astonished with these disgusting attacks on Lewinsky
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 08:59 AM
Aug 2021

I will admit at the time of these events I did share a feeling and attitude towards Lewinsky of despise and loathing at minimum.

But a lot of time and a bit more enlightened understanding of the circumstances as well as the dynamics at play has better informed me and I have to say I've grown to admire the person Monica Lewinsky has developed into at this point in her life.

I had gone through an entire process of rethinking over years and then I heard Monica's Ted Talk and I was blown away.

This demonetization of her by our own people, particularly women, must be put to an end, in my view.

I suspect there is a bit of projection from those who may have had experience with a womanizer as partners/husbands and place blame on the woman as being the hustler/slut/whore etc at fault while covering for their "man".







 

Treefrog

(4,170 posts)
182. Same poster has a rather interesting thread in the lounge right now.
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 12:44 PM
Aug 2021

I won’t comment further.

Scrivener7

(59,522 posts)
121. Why do you feel the need to be so disgusting in the ways you refer to her?
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 10:10 PM
Aug 2021

What are you trying to achieve with these strikingly sexist comments?

Response to samplegirl (Reply #10)

 

Treefrog

(4,170 posts)
186. Nah, that she is not.
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 12:53 PM
Aug 2021

Probably has more moola than you or me. As for the b word?

Bless your heart.

 

brush

(61,033 posts)
7. I have little sympathy for her, but even less for Linda Tripp.
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 05:15 PM
Aug 2021

I saw Lewinsky interview recently and she expressed remorse for sharing the story of the blue dress with Tripp who immediately ran with it and leaked it to the press.

Maraya1969

(23,497 posts)
27. I heard her say Linda Tripp was the one who convinced her to save the dress.
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 05:55 PM
Aug 2021

Can you imagine? Had she just washed the damn thing none of this would have happened. Linda Tripp was truly her enemy.

oasis

(53,693 posts)
139. IMHO, Lucianne Goldberg was the mastermind. She "commissioned"
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 11:46 PM
Aug 2021

Tripp to seek out and befriend Monica Lewinsky, who was rumored to have her sights set on Bill Clinton. Tripp was to compile the information into a blockbuster book for Goldberg to publish.

electric_blue68

(26,856 posts)
218. Oh...yeahhhh... Lucianne Goldberg. A name I haven't heard in a very long time, or remembered!
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 07:47 PM
Aug 2021

oasis

(53,693 posts)
230. Tripp, a holdover from Poppa Bush's administration, made contact
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 10:45 PM
Aug 2021

with the notoriously right wing publisher, Goldberg, with hopes of selling an insider tell-all about her work with President Clinton. It was Goldberg who tasked Tripp to follow rumors of a young intern's flirtation with the president.

And the rest is history.

riverwalker

(8,694 posts)
8. Imagine being 48 years old
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 05:16 PM
Aug 2021

and your only contribution to the world is a blow job. Gawd I wish she would just slither away.

milestogo

(23,082 posts)
23. She contributed great ammo for Trump and other republicans
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 05:49 PM
Aug 2021

although I don't think she is one.

fescuerescue

(4,475 posts)
118. A whole generation of media wannabees
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 10:02 PM
Aug 2021

Would love that kinda of exposure and would feel like that hit lifes jackpot.

joshcryer

(62,536 posts)
166. She pioneered controversy for fame and fortune.
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 09:04 AM
Aug 2021

She walked with millions afterward.

That's something, I guess.

bottomofthehill

(9,390 posts)
11. I may take some flack for this but
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 05:17 PM
Aug 2021

I don’t begrudge Monica anything she can get out of this. President Clinton was a good President but a deeply flawed man. He was the President of the United States, she was a subordinate of his, the most powerful man in the world. She became a punchline, her life will always be identified as “the intern that nearly took down a Presidency”.

President Clinton fucked this one up, he hurt Hillary, Chelsea, Monica and her family, the nation as a whole. He was a grown married man and the leader of the free world. I don’t care who she is, what she looked like, what sex act she could or would perform, all he had to do was say no.

If she makes some money at this late point in her life, so be it. She earned it (don’t mean like a prostitute, but through the dramatic change in her life).

I liked Bill Clinton as a President but, as a person much less. He caused a lot of pain

Demsrule86

(71,542 posts)
17. First of all, I don't give a damn . That was Bill Clinton's private life so a big who cares.
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 05:24 PM
Aug 2021

Secondly, Monica has cashed in before and will no doubt do so again. It was her bestie, Linda, whatever her name was that outed Monica in fact with the dress...I truly couldn't care less. It was over many years ago. I view this entire thing as sort of sad...that is /was Monica's claim to fame.

Sympthsical

(10,969 posts)
54. Your job is not your private life
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 06:35 PM
Aug 2021

If I carried on an affair with an underling, including having sex in the place of work, I would be fired so fast, every head in the office would spin.

This is my least favorite defense of Clinton. "Private life!" Oh, it was not. He was the President. She was an intern. It happened at the White House, in the West Wing.

The heads of Time's Up are learning this week a very hard lesson that you don't excuse or minimize bad behavior, just because you like the politics of the person involved. They both got shown the door real quick.

Amazing how all the outrage about powerful men and younger women in the workplace goes right out the window as soon as it's someone whose politics we like.

Predictable, but amazing.

I don't care about any of it. I was too young to vote when it happened. Clinton hasn't been salient to our politics in ages.

But the hypocrisy is a lot bit much. And of course, the woman is the one who gets pilloried. Fancy that.

leftstreet

(40,680 posts)
68. +1
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 07:01 PM
Aug 2021

It was never viewed for what it was - a labor rights issue

If I carried on an affair with an underling, including having sex in the place of work, I would be fired so fast, every head in the office would spin.

Yep, you know it

Nixie

(17,984 posts)
156. Monica should have been fired for flashing her panties
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 07:37 AM
Aug 2021

in the workplace. She should have been marched out the door. How many women or people do you know that show their underwear to others at work. C’mon now.

multigraincracker

(37,651 posts)
48. You are ok with me...
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 06:26 PM
Aug 2021

I've spent the second half of my life trying to learn from others mistakes. I feel it makes me more tolerant of others and less judgmental of them. I do pay attention, just not so critical. Bill was pretty good for a guy from Hope. Half of my family was from there and I'm just glad I got out at the age of 4.

femmedem

(8,561 posts)
50. No flack from me. I agree.
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 06:30 PM
Aug 2021

She went through hell for decades, and even on a progressive message board people are acting like this was the only thing she ever did in her life.

He was decades older, he'd made a marriage vow, he had all the power and yet she's the one who has born the brunt of the blame in the public's eye.

ecstatic

(35,075 posts)
105. I agree, but Linda Tripp and the rethugs are the ones who
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 09:25 PM
Aug 2021

took a private situation and made it public. Half of the mofos were having affairs themselves.

bottomofthehill

(9,390 posts)
108. Linda Tripp is human garbage.
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 09:30 PM
Aug 2021

Much like President Clinton, she took advantage of a young woman and ruined her life. What Tripp did, betrayed Monica was as bad if not worse than what Clinton did.

Withywindle

(9,989 posts)
145. Flack from me: You're right and you should say it
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 02:39 AM
Aug 2021

He was the one cheating on a spouse, not her. He was the one who held ALL the power in this equation. (Literally the most powerful person in the world). She was a 22-year-old intern who had her mistake thrust into the spotlight in the most horrific and degrading way possible, and of course the Republicans used every opportunity to degrade and demean her and Bill both - but especially her because women always get the shit end of the stick in these matters, especially if they have no power of their own.

Frankly I admire her courage for getting through that and growing up as strong as she did. I follow her on Twitter, and she is clever, funny, and 100% on board with Democratic ideals.

She has the right to tell her side of the story and have it be seen, and maybe by a more sympathetic audience than she had in the 90s. And if she gets paid, so what? Get it, girl.

Boomerproud

(9,292 posts)
18. She won't be cashing in from me.
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 05:28 PM
Aug 2021

An entire year was flooded with that story on every part of the media. I already know everything I want to know and then some.

live love laugh

(16,383 posts)
53. Why should it work for her? She's not some innocent victim.
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 06:34 PM
Aug 2021

At best she’s an accomplice. And in true Republican fashion she wants to engage in revisionist history which is bullshit.

Maraya1969

(23,497 posts)
26. Monica was dragged through the mud. She actually moved to Europe to get away
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 05:52 PM
Aug 2021

from it all.

I understand what she did was bad but we've all done bad things. But she has been the brunt of jokes for 30 year!

Arazi

(8,887 posts)
33. I'll go further...
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 06:03 PM
Aug 2021

I think what Monica Lewinsky did was pretty shitty and she's paid a lifetime of karma for it. But I don't buy the "poor Hillary" thing. Bill Clinton was a notorious horndog. Hillary knew he was screwing around.

Their marriage is private and I don't want to speculate on why she stuck with him (still sticks with him) but I certainly don't feel sorry for her. She tolerated his affairs for years before Monica

Grokenstein

(6,356 posts)
28. Her post-scandal life has been a constant Merry-Go-Round
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 05:55 PM
Aug 2021

spinning between "I just want to be left alone" and "pay attention to me and give me money."

edbermac

(16,449 posts)
29. I'm looking forward to the Donald Trump Stormy Daniels affair mini series
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 05:56 PM
Aug 2021

I can’t wait for the scene when Donald pulls down his pants and Stormy starts laughing.

sboatcar

(850 posts)
31. Honestly though, Hillary could have divorced him
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 06:01 PM
Aug 2021

Like in most marriages, that would have been the end, but she stuck through it anyway.

tblue37

(68,436 posts)
110. Maybe they love each other. Some married people do, even if their spouses are flawed.
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 09:39 PM
Aug 2021

Withywindle

(9,989 posts)
247. I suspect they might have an "arrangement"
Mon Aug 30, 2021, 03:25 AM
Aug 2021

Marriage doesn't always mean strict monogamy. For me, sexual exclusiveness is not in my top 10 of priorities for a potential spouse.

Doc Sportello

(7,964 posts)
51. Totally expected
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 06:31 PM
Aug 2021

Misogyny, ageism and attacks on some of our best media. Just a typical day.

JanMichael

(25,725 posts)
60. A lot of people are two-faced. If it's somebody you hate, yeah!
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 06:48 PM
Aug 2021

If it's somebody you like then the accuser is a slut and taking advantage of the former most powerful person in the world, not him being able to control his zipper.

And I like Bill Clinton I voted for him twice and would have voted for him three times however he did have a real problem with philandering.

 

greenjar_01

(6,477 posts)
69. I am absolutely shocked to find people still attacking Monica Lewinsky and defending Bill Clinton
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 07:02 PM
Aug 2021

Holy shit.

HOLY SHIT!

Despicable.

Sympthsical

(10,969 posts)
91. It's like people are living in an episode of Mad Men
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 09:00 PM
Aug 2021

Or watching people defend Don Draper, just because they like Jon Hamm.

renate

(13,776 posts)
75. Me too
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 07:20 PM
Aug 2021

He gets to go on with his life being a hugely important world figure. She’s known for one thing. Her name is synonymous with one scandal. It’s horribly unfair, especially when he was the one with the power and he was the much older one who absolutely should have known better.

Also, she seems like a neat person on Twitter.

yardwork

(69,364 posts)
132. Yeah, me too.
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 10:53 PM
Aug 2021

There are some good posts here pointing out the hugely unequal power dynamic.

Maraya1969

(23,497 posts)
38. I really hate it when I see Democrats acting mean like Republicans. We are better than that!
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 06:08 PM
Aug 2021

iemanja

(57,757 posts)
41. Monica's life is ruined
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 06:11 PM
Aug 2021

because of how she was treated and blamed for Bill Clinton's actions. So she finally makes some money off it. Hillary isn't going to curl up into a ball and cry her eyes out.

Response to samplegirl (Reply #78)

Scrivener7

(59,522 posts)
114. Her skills? She gave a guy a blow job. It's not uncommon.
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 09:56 PM
Aug 2021

Honestly, the Puritan crap in this thread is nauseating.

iemanja

(57,757 posts)
117. I'm sick of the misogynist bullshit
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 10:00 PM
Aug 2021

She had sex, like every other person on the planet. Bill Clinton chose to commit adultery in the public eye. That is his responsibility, but instead of holding him accountable for his own actions, you blame someone who was very young at the time.

thucythucy

(9,103 posts)
45. How about a Netflix series on Ken Starr's attempt to cover up
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 06:24 PM
Aug 2021

actual rapes and sexual harassment when he was head of Baylor University? And yes, I would hope there would also be an episode on his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.

If it's scandal the network is after, the Ken Starr story has it all.

The man spent years and tens of millions of dollars investigating a consensual relationship that neither party wanted to be public. And then he went and tried to sweep under the rug actual rapes committed on the campus he was supposed to run, against young people he was supposed to protect. And all his squeamishness about what Bill and Monica were up to behind closed doors and as part of a consensual relationship just evaporated when it came to defending a sex trafficker of teenage girls, and a president who openly bragged about his assaults on women. That the man justifies it all by citing his "Christian faith" is just one more instance of his sanctimonious hypocrisy.

As for Clinton, I shared the disappointment some have expressed in this thread. The nation lost so much because of this nonsense--genuine reforms that might have passed had the last years of his administration not been consumed by his inappropriate behavior. He should have known better. He knew what was at stake. He knew that the "vast right wing conspiracy" was just waiting for him to make a mistake. For such a brilliant politician to be so foolhardy is beyond sad. Millions of people--myself included--contributed to his campaigns and volunteered to get him elected so he could do important things that needed doing. And he did accomplish a great deal, no doubt about it--but so much was lost when this story broke. So much potential was wasted.

And I'm convinced Al Gore would have won the presidency if this hadn't happened. Which would have meant: no Iraq war, no conservative majority on the Supreme Court and eight years of Federalist Society judges on the federal bench. We'll never know, of course, but I also think had Gore been president 9-11 might not have happened. It's difficult to imagine a detail obsessed policy wonk like Al Gore ignoring all the warnings we had leading up to that terrible day.

As for Monica, I would cut her some slack. As I recall Lewinsky didn't want any of this to go public. It was right wing fink Linda Tripp who set all this in motion, pretending to be Lewinsky's friend just so she could bring Clinton down. I did a lot of stupid things in my twenties, and certainly wouldn't want my entire life to be judged on the basis of shit I did when I was twenty-two.

Scrivener7

(59,522 posts)
124. All of this! And I would LOVE to see the "Ken Starr is a rape enabler" Netflix series.
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 10:35 PM
Aug 2021

It's a story that ought to be told

ProfessorGAC

(76,703 posts)
185. THAT I Would Watch
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 12:52 PM
Aug 2021

This show with Lewinsky, not so much.
Despite the historical impact, it's really not an interesting event.
Finding about details of a organizational cover-up of violent crimes is more interesting. And, more worthy of public scrutiny & condemnation.

JanMichael

(25,725 posts)
52. Sarc right? So much for radical feminism.
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 06:34 PM
Aug 2021

People should be defending Monica Lewinsky not attacking her.

So much of the time's up movement was against people with power basically taking advantage people without power; usually young women.

At 22 you're not a child however a 22-year-old being proposition by a 40 or 50 something president in the oval office, the most powerful person technically in the world, it would be intimidating and you may do things that you would eventually regret.

However Bill should have known that because of his position and his age. But he did it anyway because he obviously was so powerful at the time he didn't think he was going to get caught even though that would fuel Republicans for decades. He just wanted some young mouth on his cock. Regardless of his relationship with his wife or his constituents or his position of power. F*** all

iemanja

(57,757 posts)
120. We live in a misogynist culture
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 10:09 PM
Aug 2021

where women are always blamed for the actions of men, and too many women eagerly and gleefully participate in that, evidently because they think belittling women gives them some advantage with men.

JI7

(93,616 posts)
56. I figured out a few years ago that she had no regrets about the affair
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 06:44 PM
Aug 2021

and that she is actually proud of it.

But I don't think Hillary really cares about this.

Sympthsical

(10,969 posts)
58. She seems like she's grown into a perfectly decent woman
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 06:48 PM
Aug 2021

She talks quite a lot about bullying, online and off - and certainly she should know. Even in this thread, people are having their go at her.

She gave this really amazing Ted Talk about public shaming. Some people could take a page or two from it. Especially where young women are concerned.

Reports are, the show isn't going to be salacious. Murphy said they weren't going to show any of the sex stuff, and that the writers didn't want to include it either. It's mainly about the political, legal, and personal fall out. His other two seasons in this series about OJ Simpson and Andrew Cunanan were pretty fantastic.

People need to get over it. Bill Clinton did just fine. He's a wealthy man now. Hillary made her peace with it ages ago as they're still married. If they could work it out between each other, I see no reason why we have any business running around with knickers atwist on their behalf.

demmiblue

(39,720 posts)
59. I wish her well and plan on watching.
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 06:48 PM
Aug 2021

I enjoyed The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story. I missed the O.J. season, but heard that Sarah Paulson was excellent as Marcia Clark. She is playing Linda Tripp this season. She is one of my favorite actresses.

I very much admire Monica and her evolution as a person.

dsc

(53,397 posts)
83. The OJ season was fantastic as well
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 08:12 PM
Aug 2021

she and Sterling K Brown (Darden) were mesmerizing. Sarah Paulson is a heck of an actress and clearly Ryan Murphy is a master of getting great work out of her. I will be watching this series.

Sympthsical

(10,969 posts)
94. If you can, watch one episode
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 09:03 PM
Aug 2021

From the OJ Simpson season. Episode 6 entitled "Marcia Marcia Marcia"

Paulson is a total powerhouse, portraying what it was like to be a woman in that kind of media spotlight. The sexism involved in every aspect of her situation.

It was one of the finest performances I've seen on television ever.

 

Carlitos Brigante

(26,848 posts)
260. I gotta admit. I didn't give 2 shits at the time (the whole circus that came after, not the loss of
Thu Sep 2, 2021, 04:17 PM
Sep 2021

life). Anyway, one day was looking for something to watch and picked that series. Got hooked and ended up watching the entire thing.

iemanja

(57,757 posts)
207. Also Clive Owen plays Bill Clinton
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 06:12 PM
Aug 2021

and Eddie Falco plays Hillary. Sounds like quite a good cast.

left-of-center2012

(34,195 posts)
70. She can tell her side of the story. You know -- that freedom of speech thingy?
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 07:06 PM
Aug 2021

No one will be forced to watch.

msfiddlestix

(8,178 posts)
74. She should have divorced Bill's ass right after they left office
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 07:19 PM
Aug 2021

I don't know, and no one can say, if her suffering would have faded for good, but it certainly would have been a wise decision had she done so.

My sympathies go out for Chelsea and Monica.

Monica has a right to cash in. Her entire life has been wrongfully impacted by that entire episode.

iemanja

(57,757 posts)
197. While I myself had trouble understanding why Hillary didn't
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 04:06 PM
Aug 2021

divorce Bill, ultimately that was their decision, not ours. I refuse to hold that against Hillary, who just happened to be right about EVERYTHING regarding Trump.

Politicub

(12,328 posts)
76. This thread is toxic
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 07:28 PM
Aug 2021

And shows how ignorant people are about Lewinsky and her life over the past 20 years. She’s a strong ally to the gay- and anti-bullying communities. Follow her on Twitter if you want to see the fierce advocate for women and equality she has become.

She does not deserve the hate directed at her. At all.

She was used by Linda Tripp and Kenneth Starr. And Bill Clinton should have been better behaved as a public figure. While Clinton was raked over the coals unfairly, it was not Lewinsky who set out to take down Clinton.

FFS. Grow up.

dsc

(53,397 posts)
85. I have no idea how much she is making for this
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 08:17 PM
Aug 2021

nor do I care. First, she has every right to help tell this story if that is what she chooses to do. Ryan Murphy has done a very good job of telling these stories well and without massive sensationalism. The source material here is apparently Toobin's book. Lewinski is a producer, and again, good for her. Second, her refusal to lie about the affair, when Starr very much wanted her to do so, to make Clinton look like a rapist or sexual harasser in regards to her, likely saved his Presidency. Third, post Starr she has done wonderful work in regards to online bullying.

Finally, much of this thread is disgustingly sexist.

SkylineChili

(63 posts)
103. Yes, thank you
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 09:20 PM
Aug 2021

This thread is indeed, incredibly and disgustingly sexist. If it were a Republican President and a Republican intern, the comments would be very different. She is an articulate, intelligent woman who has done much good with her platform on bullying. She has been pilloried by the press and by democrats who should know better. Bill Clinton was a pig when it came to women. Monica Lewinski can tell her story. you don't need to listen if you don't want to.

Scrivener7

(59,522 posts)
115. Great point about her thwarting Starr. And sadly, the sexism seems to be coming from women.
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 09:59 PM
Aug 2021

Sometimes I despair.

CTyankee

(68,201 posts)
101. He was the most powerful man in the world at that time. He shudda just kept her out of the White
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 09:14 PM
Aug 2021

House but did not. His power went to his head. She was young and very immature. Without his consent there would be no scandal ensuing.

betsuni

(29,078 posts)
107. He was incredibly foolish getting involved with an intern with a crush.
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 09:29 PM
Aug 2021

This was Monica's second affair with a married man. Had an affair with her high school drama teacher, followed him to a different state when he moved there with his family, babysat his kids (wife didn't find out about the affair until later). Then she managed to seduce the president of the United States! That takes skills.

CTyankee

(68,201 posts)
158. I'm sure she was thinking dreams of glory. But he could have put a stop to her advances early on.
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 08:30 AM
Aug 2021

I can only blame her for being foolish. He was in charge. Were there no guards at the White House to keep him safe?

kskiska

(27,165 posts)
113. One trick pony.
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 09:50 PM
Aug 2021

Who cares anymore? I read where the writers left out the part where she flashed her thong at Clinton. She put it back in. It would have been obvious to a lot of people if her part in the whole saga was totally neglected.

violasays

(64 posts)
119. I have a question, as a Gen Z person
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 10:09 PM
Aug 2021

I was not yet born when this all happened, but among my peers, the narrative was that Ms. Lewinsky was a freedom fighter who was abused by a powerful man and forced to do the things she did. It was not until I was about 15 or so and made a statement about it at a family dinner that one of my relatives sent me copies of the testimony and I learned the encounters were completely consensual and that part of Ms. Lewinsky's desire in becoming an intern was to sleep with President Clinton.

I guess I am just confused. When I told a friend of mine that Ms. Lewinsky wanted to have sex with President Clinton, she accused me of being a liar until I sent her the same links to the sworn testimony that my relative did. At that point, my friend, who had been following Ms. Lewinsky on Twitter, unfollowed and blocked her because she said that this is not the narrative Ms. Lewinsky herself has pushed out. I understand that she was very young when this happened and President Clinton was in the wrong for not putting a lid on this. But has Ms. Lewinsky changed her story over the year to suggest that she had no choice but to service President Clinton? I'm very confused, because she has become a folk hero to girls my age (I'm 19) and from what I hear, she was a foolish young woman who willingly had an affair with her boss. That's not really anything to celebrate.

Scrivener7

(59,522 posts)
122. See post 85 for answers to part of this. She was young, she was foolish. She had a
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 10:17 PM
Aug 2021

crush on Bill. Bill, being Bill, took full advantage of it. It was consensual, but of course the power imbalance was so extreme that it was a really, really stupid decision for both of them to make, but to me he is more at fault on that point.

But it WAS completely consensual. However, she WAS very young, and then she was pounced on by other people who wanted to use her to take down Clinton. At great cost to herself, she did not allow that.

The Oval Office blowjobs were foolish. But the political fallout for her was devastating and she stood up to it well, despite the fact that she was (and, as we see in this thread, STILL is) subject to vile judgment and sexism simply because she engaged in an ill considered affair with a high profile man.

And, though we might not do it with high profile men, what woman among us has not ever engaged in an ill-considered affair? I certainly have.

Here's a link to post 85, which makes good points about this.:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=15794002

violasays

(64 posts)
134. Thank you very much
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 11:08 PM
Aug 2021

I appreciate your thorough and reasoned response to my question. That post had a lot of information, and I'm sorry I missed it on my first read. Thanks again.

iemanja

(57,757 posts)
125. What a load of nonsense
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 10:40 PM
Aug 2021

The stories you and your friends told yourselves about Monica are bizarre. Did you grow up with a bunch of right wingers? I can't imagine anyone else buying into the "freedom fighter" story.

Why is the focus even on Monica? People are desperate to blame her for the actions of someone who has then a powerful man in his 50's. They blame her rather than acknowledging that Bill Clinton bears responsibility for his own actions. I suppose those who wanted to see Bill Clinton destroyed might have seen her as a hero, though that certainly wasn't Monica's intent.

Also, based on what do you conclude that Monica became an intern in order to have sex with Clinton? I mean--besides gossip from your friends. Obviously the sex was consensual. That was never in dispute at the time. Did Monica ever say she became an intern in order to have sex with Clinton? And even if she did, what does that have to do will Bill Clinton's behavior? Is your contention that the President of the United States had no capacity to resist her?

And who exactly in this thread do you see celebrating Monica? Is that what you think all the infantile sex jokes are about?

Response to iemanja (Reply #125)

142. I don't see anyone blaming her for a man's actions
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 02:03 AM
Aug 2021

I do see people holding her accountable for her own behavior, though. Bill is getting called out for overstepping his boundaries and abusing his power plenty enough in this thread, as he should. But that doesn’t make Monica a victim. Both of them knowingly made stupid decisions in the pursuit of instant gratification, only one had the seniority to bear the responsibility of saying “no”. Still doesn’t absolve her of her own culpability.

Monica also frequently retweets and even takes the lead on these infantile sex jokes, so I have to laugh at the people offended on her behalf. She’s a participant in her own objectification, and at her current age (because people see her as never having aged past her 20s) old enough to know better and capable of sticking up for herself at this point. I used to feel terribly sorry for her, but she’s made it clear that she doesn’t mind being reduced to a degrading footnote in history. She was only sad about her inability to monetize the scandal, which she’s now doing.


Please, let’s save the outrage for the women who actually don’t welcome any aspect of this.

iemanja

(57,757 posts)
144. What culpability?
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 02:27 AM
Aug 2021

She had sex with a married man. Do you consider all women who have done that culpable? Should they be pilloried in public, made the butt of jokes for decades? The very use of that term indicates that you see her as culpable in Bill Clinton's impeachment. He bears responsibility for the actions that led to that, not Monica. He knew the Republicans were out to get him. He knew they were watching him, yet he behaved grossly irresponsibly anyway. I could care less than he had affairs. I care that he so readily played into the Republicans hands. Monica didn't make him do that.

I'm not saying she's a victim, but the efforts to continually belittle her are entirely about shifting blame on her for Clinton's actions. I'm offended on my own behalf. Casting women as the evil eve is as old and misogynist as the bible itself. Women don't need to be pure {"who don't welcome any of this"} to merit respect.

I don't follow her on twitter and could care less what jokes she retweets here. I'm less concerned about her per se than the misogyny revealed in discourse about her. This thread sits alongside all of those vilifying the women who accused Cuomo. Monica's relationship was consensual, but the scapegoating of Monica serves the same purpose that it did for those who sought to deflect blame against Cuomo; it's a step in the maintenance of male supremacy.

Withywindle

(9,989 posts)
147. +1
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 02:49 AM
Aug 2021

Slut-shaming to the extreme. Boys will be boys (even if they're over 50) but it's a woman's responsibility to put the brakes on, no matter how young and starstruck she may be.

I mean, Bill Clinton was an attractive and charismatic guy. Lot of other Gen X women I knew were like, "....yeah, I might've done it too."

190. "She had sex with a married man. Do you consider all women who have done that culpable?"
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 01:31 PM
Aug 2021

Unless they were coerced... yeah? Are you seriously disputing that women should be held liable for their actions?

And no, not once did I blame her for Clinton’s impeachment. Not even close, because I didn’t mention the impeachment at all. Now you’re entering strawman territory, which makes the sum of your argument dishonest.

You’re not saying she’s the victim, but you’re definitely portraying her as such while falsely suggesting that I’m giving Clinton a pass which I’m obviously not given that I explicitly said he bore the brunt of the responsibility to not allow the affair to transpire in the first place. Women cannot complain about being reduced to a single mistake when they go out of their way to continue defining themselves by it even long after everyone else has moved on, which is what she’s doing.

And please don’t disrespect victims of sexual harassment by putting Monica in their ranks. This has nothing to do with purity and everything to do with marking a clear distinction between someone who welcomes bad publicity through their questionable behavior yet plays the victim when it’s convenient and people who are real, actual victims fighting to have their claims taken seriously. Just don’t.

iemanja

(57,757 posts)
196. You're intentionally misreading my point about the Cuomo women
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 04:04 PM
Aug 2021

I clearly said Monica's situation was consensual. The situations are very different, but the discourse around them both is about propping up male supremacy.

"This has nothing to do with purity and everything to do with marking a clear distinction between someone who welcomes bad publicity through their questionable behavior yet plays the victim when it’s convenient." That is your claim about what Lewinsky's life; not a statement of fact. Others talk about how she has worked against online bullying and supported LGBT communities. You claim she is a professional victim cashing in.

Women cannot complain about being reduced to a single mistake when they go out of their way to continue defining themselves by it even long after everyone else has moved on, which is what she’s doing.

Actually Ryan Murphy is doing another season of his acclaimed "American Crime Story" about the Clinton-Lewinsky affair. Clive Owen is involved, as is Edie Falco and Sarah Paulson. Lewinsky agreed to participate as a producer, and I don't begrudge her any profit that brings. She had a great deal of trouble finding as much as a job for years after the affair, whereas Bill Clinton got rich (demonstrating the falsity of your claim that she wasn't held responsible over Clinton). So now she gets to make some money. You claim it's making herself a perpetual victim. I don't see it that way. She gets to have input in how the story is told.
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/making-impeachment-american-crime-story-1235002219/

As for your moralizing, I hope your contempt for women who have affairs is visited upon men who have done the same. There is no liability for having an affair. It's a personal and family transgression, not a legal one. I'm going to assume that you've never so much as lusted in your heart, given your determination of those who have had affairs, meaning the great majority of the population, as "liable," including Democratic heroes such as FDR, RFK, and JFK.
214. Sure, Jan.
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 06:59 PM
Aug 2021

You’re engaging in doublespeak. Between your acknowledgment that the affair was consensual (which you really can’t argue otherwise), you scoff at the notion of Monica bearing any degree of accountability and liken her to women who had unwanted advances made toward them at work by their boss. It’s rather transparent, I must say.

And she is most certainly entitled to monetize the legacy of the scandal however she sees fit. She just loses all credibility when she still moans about being defined by the affair, because she obviously doesn’t mind that as long as it’s only on her terms. Especially when she attempts to disingenuously insert herself into the MeToo narrative while making or retweeting blowjob jokes.

demonstrating the falsity of your claim that she wasn't held responsible over Clinton).


Once again, you’re putting words in my mouth. I never claimed she suffered no fallout from the affair being made a public matter. You’re willfully taking my comments out of context now. I respect (but still wholeheartedly disagree) with your perspective, however I do not respect your dishonest misrepresentation of my argument. Your continued insistence on doing so makes it hard for me to respect you on this matter, because you prove yourself incapable of rebutting against the actual points that were made, so you resort to creating strawmen. Which is a testament to how tenuous your side of the argument is.

As for your moralizing, I hope your contempt for women who have affairs is visited upon men who have done the same.

Yeah, you could’ve figured that one out if you took the time to actually read my post instead of reacting emotionally, you’d see I came out the gate placing the brunt of the blame on Clinton.

There is no liability for having an affair. It's a personal and family transgression, not a legal one.

Cool, so you agree that portraying Monica as the little red riding hood to big bad wolf Bill is a mendacious reframing of the story, correct?

I'm going to assume that you've never so much as lusted in your heart, given your determination of those who have had affairs, meaning the great majority of the population, as "liable," including Democratic heroes such as FDR, RFK, and JFK.

Oh please, save it. “You've never so much as lusted in your heart”, now lusting is tantamount to actually acting on those desires even in the most inappropriate of contexts? The faux sanctimony seems entirely personal on your behalf on this point. Were you ever a third party to an extramarital affair? If so, it certainly explains your stance on this.

I don’t make heroes out of politicians or people in general, so whatever “gotcha” moment you were attempting to cultivate here isn’t happening, sorry. Adultery is trashy, equally for both sexes, sorry if that bothers you too. Doubly so when you’re willing to jeopardize an almighty job title for it (especially when you’re far too old to behave like an impulsive, idiotic teenager), and ditto for when you want to evade accountability by framing yourself as a victim when it suits you. No sexist double standards over here... unlike some people in this thread.

iemanja

(57,757 posts)
223. Please show me
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 09:10 PM
Aug 2021

Where I claimed " Monica as the little red riding hood to big bad wolf Bill."
Or where I claimed the affair wasn't consensual. That's not exactly a revelation. I made that point in the first post you responded to.

Monica is responsible for having an affair with a married man, not "liable," which means legally culpable, and she is not responsible for Clinton's impeachment. The damage done to Monica was by the media, not Clinton. I don't believe anyone should have to go jobless for ten years because of a moral transgression.

Your post is off the hook, yet you claim I am acting "emotionally." Are you seriously so out of it to not get what that comment means?

I'm done trying to explain misogynist discourse production to you. You clearly have no interest in understanding that or any of my points.

The reference to "lusting in your heart" was from Jimmy Carter, another point that escaped you.

especially when you’re far too old to behave like an impulsive, idiotic teenager), and ditto for when you want to evade accountability by framing yourself as a victim when it suits you.

And I'm the one who's emotional.

Percy

(721 posts)
237. Well said.
Mon Aug 30, 2021, 12:09 AM
Aug 2021

"And please don’t disrespect victims of sexual harassment by putting Monica in their ranks. This has nothing to do with purity and everything to do with marking a clear distinction between someone who welcomes bad publicity through their questionable behavior yet plays the victim when it’s convenient and people who are real, actual victims fighting to have their claims taken seriously."

Thank you!

Withywindle

(9,989 posts)
146. She has a sense of humor about it
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 02:46 AM
Aug 2021

Probably what kept her from suicide, IMO. Is she supposed to NOT find a way to get a laugh out of all of this? I'm a little bit older than her, I made similar mistakes in my youth (though NOT, thank god, in the international public eye) and yes, I do find some element of bitter humor in them now.

Her ability to laugh about it now is telling people that the worst mistake of your life does NOT necessarily mean you have to wear sackcloth and ashes forever, even in circumstances as incredibly humiliating as hers.

192. So she can have a sense of humor about it but others cannot?
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 01:37 PM
Aug 2021

So which is it? The jokes are vile and misogynistic but somehow acceptable only when she’s the one laughing? And they go back to being unacceptable when she cries about being reduced to that mistake again? She can’t have it both ways.

I understand dark humor as a coping mechanism, however it’s one thing to crack them in private without the outside world viewing them and judging them out of context, and another thing to constantly reintroduce the topic that you cited as the source of all your personal turmoil on a public platform with the clear intention to bring attention to it all over again.

Withywindle

(9,989 posts)
243. Well, yes!
Mon Aug 30, 2021, 02:56 AM
Aug 2021

There's a big difference between making jokes about your own life experience, and other people who aren't you making crude sexist jokes about you.

It's the difference between laughing at someone, and laughing with them. I laugh with Monica Lewinsky, not at her.

pnwmom

(110,261 posts)
150. She was the idiot who gave the President an eyeful of her thong underwear,
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 04:11 AM
Aug 2021

and then gloated about her triumph to her non-friend, the older woman who spilled the beans.

She was no freedom fighter and she wasn't abused by Clinton. She was an adult who went after him and then bragged about it. Of course he was a very willing target, but that doesn't make her a victim.

If she's saying otherwise now, I have even less respect for her than before.

From the Starr report:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/icreport/6narritii.htm

According to Ms. Lewinsky, she and the President made eye contact when he came to the West Wing to see Mr. Panetta and Deputy Chief of Staff Harold Ickes, then again later at an informal birthday party for Jennifer Palmieri, Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff.(149) At one point, Ms. Lewinsky and the President talked alone in the Chief of Staff's office. In the course of flirting with him, she raised her jacket in the back and showed him the straps of her thong underwear, which extended above her pants.(150)

En route to the restroom at about 8 p.m., she passed George Stephanopoulos's office. The President was inside alone, and he beckoned her to enter.(151) She told him that she had a crush on him. He laughed, then asked if she would like to see his private office.(152) Through a connecting door in Mr. Stephanopoulos's office, they went through the President's private dining room toward the study off the Oval Office. Ms. Lewinsky testified: "We talked briefly and sort of acknowledged that there had been a chemistry that was there before and that we were both attracted to each other and then he asked me if he could kiss me." Ms. Lewinsky said yes. In the windowless hallway adjacent to the study, they kissed.(153) Before returning to her desk, Ms. Lewinsky wrote down her name and telephone number for the President.(154)

At about 10 p.m., in Ms. Lewinsky's recollection, she was alone in the Chief of Staff's office and the President approached.(155) He invited her to rendezvous again in Mr. Stephanopoulos's office in a few minutes, and she agreed.(156) (Asked if she knew why the President wanted to meet with her, Ms. Lewinsky testified: "I had an idea.(157)) They met in Mr. Stephanopoulos's office and went again to the area of the private study.(158) This time the lights in the study were off.(159)

According to Ms. Lewinsky, she and the President kissed. She unbuttoned her jacket; either she unhooked her bra or he lifted her bra up; and he touched her breasts with his hands and mouth.(160) Ms. Lewinsky testified: "I believe he took a phone call . . . and so we moved from the hallway into the back office . . . . [H]e put his hand down my pants and stimulated me manually in the genital area.(161) While the President continued talking on the phone (Ms. Lewinsky understood that the caller was a Member of Congress or a Senator), she performed oral sex on him.(162) He finished his call, and, a moment later, told Ms. Lewinsky to stop. In her recollection: "I told him that I wanted . . . to complete that. And he said . . . that he needed to wait until he trusted me more. And then I think he made a joke . . . that he hadn't had that in a long time.(163)

femmedem

(8,561 posts)
154. She never changed her story about what happened but her interpretation has evolved as she's matured.
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 05:27 AM
Aug 2021

She has never, ever portrayed it as an assault, and she continues to express regret about her role. When she first started speaking about it, she talked about the trauma of being so publically shamed. It was early in the internet days and the degree of online bullying and shaming she experienced was a brand new phenomenon. It wasn't like today when people know that their every move or utterance may haunt them on the internet forever.

More recently, while still acknowledging her role, she has also begun to talk about the power differential.

" Just four years ago, in an essay for this magazine, I wrote the following: “Sure, my boss took advantage of me, but I will always remain firm on this point: it was a consensual relationship. Any ‘abuse’ came in the aftermath, when I was made a scapegoat in order to protect his powerful position.” I now see how problematic it was that the two of us even got to a place where there was a question of consent. Instead, the road that led there was littered with inappropriate abuse of authority, station, and privilege. (Full stop.)

Now, at 44, I’m beginning (just beginning) to consider the implications of the power differentials that were so vast between a president and a White House intern. I’m beginning to entertain the notion that in such a circumstance the idea of consent might well be rendered moot. (Although power imbalances—and the ability to abuse them—do exist even when the sex has been consensual.)

But it’s also complicated. Very, very complicated. The dictionary definition of “consent”? “To give permission for something to happen.” And yet what did the “something” mean in this instance, given the power dynamics, his position, and my age? Was the “something” just about crossing a line of sexual (and later emotional) intimacy? (An intimacy I wanted—with a 22-year-old’s limited understanding of the consequences.) He was my boss. He was the most powerful man on the planet. He was 27 years my senior, with enough life experience to know better. He was, at the time, at the pinnacle of his career, while I was in my first job out of college. (Note to the trolls, both Democratic and Republican: none of the above excuses me for my responsibility for what happened. I meet Regret every day.)"

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/02/monica-lewinsky-in-the-age-of-metoo

Upthread is her earlier article for Vanity Fair, "Emerging from the House of Gaslight."

joshcryer

(62,536 posts)
169. The problem is she had a habit of engaging in affairs with married men.
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 09:25 AM
Aug 2021

Which is actually a power debalance, because you can ruin that guys life. Indeed she did ruin the marriages of the men she had affairs with. I agree that Bill Clinton "should have known better" (all he had to do was reassign her in the White House as soon as the flirtation began), but it didn't happen that way.

193. If you choose to cheat on your spouse
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 01:43 PM
Aug 2021

You’re the one ruining your own life, not the person you’re cheating with. And he was still her boss, so no the power imbalance was still there. Otherwise, I agree she wasn’t a helpless little victim who couldn’t have known better despite what some people in this thread suggest.

pnwmom

(110,261 posts)
170. How convenient for her. In the interim, the "power differential" theory has sprung up
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 10:52 AM
Aug 2021

to make her his victim.

Nope, it doesn't apply in this situation. She went after him and while he took a phone call, she gave him her first blow job. Give me a break.

Bill didn't victimize her. Linda did, and much of the press did, but not Clinton. And Monica was one of the two people who was willing to hurt Hillary to have their fun. And, like Bill, she had "enough life experience to know better."

violasays

(64 posts)
194. That is what I was trying to ascertain
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 02:14 PM
Aug 2021

Before certain people thought it would be more fun to dump on a 19 year old asking a simple question.

What I heard before my cousin sent me links to the Starr Report and the GJ testimony was along the lines of Hillary Clinton was hated because she sided with her horndog husband, who targeted and coerced an innocent young intern into giving him oral sex and then tried to ruin her when she looked to break it off. I can't understand how or how the narrative shifted over the course of two decades unless Ms. Lewinsky was shifting it herself. I see that in part, she was, by claiming a power imbalance between herself and President Clinton and suggesting that "consent" doesn't necessarily mean "consent" in that situation.

So I believe that is why so many women of my generation consider Ms. Lewinsky a hero. She has subtly implied that she didn't really have freedom to consent in those encounters because of the power imbalance and that President Clinton more or less took advantage of her. Which ... ehhh. Twenty-two is young but she was still an adult. I'm three years younger than she was then and I don't need to be told that there's a big power imbalance between me and the most powerful person in the world.

The bottom line is she seems content to let younger generations think that she had no choice but to do what President Clinton wanted, and I think that is an immoral act. I get that she's embarrassed and possibly ashamed of her actions, and that with all she withstood in the public eye, she's paid a heavy toll. But we don't get to embroider or buff out the past when it doesn't suit our needs or when we think we can get away with it.

Scrivener7

(59,522 posts)
219. I don't think she has ever said or done anything that would lead
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 08:02 PM
Aug 2021

you to conclude that she ever said she had no choice.

Where are you getting that?

joshcryer

(62,536 posts)
167. Lewinsky has never said it wasn't consensual.
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 09:20 AM
Aug 2021

But she has called it a "gross abuse of power" because Bill Clinton "should have known better." Despite that she was a master at having affairs with married men. Clinton was her third conquest.

She came out saying she had PTSD because of the "abuse of power" Bill Clinton used against her despite seeking him out. Requesting the internship. Getting closer to Bill over time. Showing her thong to him. Flirting with him. Doing exactly what she'd done to other married men in the past.

femmedem

(8,561 posts)
172. I do not believe that she has ever said that her ptsd stemmed directly from gross abuse of power.
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 12:21 PM
Aug 2021

Last edited Sun Aug 29, 2021, 05:23 PM - Edit history (1)

Yes, she did refer to it as a gross abuse of power in the second Vanity Fair article, but I believe she attributes the ptsd to the worldwide public humiliation that followed, which was a new phenomenon because of the internet.

If I am incorrect, please feel free to correct me

joshcryer

(62,536 posts)
187. That is a true distinction.
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 01:15 PM
Aug 2021

But all media personalities have people who hate them or mock them. She chose to go on comedy shows and get interviewed. She chose to make a handbag line. She chose to be the host of a dating show. She chose to do big book deals. She put herself out there. Had she actually not done those things the jokes would've stopped. No one would've cared about her. But she was using her "claim to fame" in a tabloid-esque manner to maybe get an advantage from that.

What bothers me is I do not think that Bill Clinton, being in a position of power, magically makes him not human and incapable of making mistakes such as reciprocating a young womans flirtation when he should not have done so. I don't think he abused his power in that vein. He made a huge mistake of judgement. He was not abusing his power to wield it over her, and she is wrong for trying to say it was consensual while also saying it was an abuse of power, when she self admittedly said she was in love with him. Retrospectively making statements about her past self and what is on the record and trying to shift the narrative to fill current themes is not something I admire. If you look at the men whose lives she destroyed they were all in positions of power. It was maybe what she was attracted to. She is essentially absolving herself of all blame after destroying two marriages and almost destroying a third and almost getting a President impeached.

Nixie

(17,984 posts)
180. "Clinton was her third conquest." Exactly, and that actually
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 12:38 PM
Aug 2021

exposes her to litigation if the injured spouses chose to pursue it. I think it’s called alienation of affectation or something like that. Although there is probably a statute of limitations for the injured spouses at this point, there doesn’t appear to be a statute of limitations for Monica to relive and revise her conquest. How abusive of Monica. She wants a mulligan but no one else gets one.

joshcryer

(62,536 posts)
188. One of the ex's made a memoir this past month...
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 01:18 PM
Aug 2021

...detailing her side of things. Everyone is trying to cash in on the scandal. If I was the men I'd write my own memoir. But they could be open to litigation if what they write doesn't fit Lewinsky's narrative. The articles of the time in the late 90s painted her as very much a nympho type who was going after married men and trying to be a socialite. But all of that is largely forgotten and if a guy were to write that way about her now it would be very risky.

Nixie

(17,984 posts)
195. I'm glad one of the spouses is stepping up and writing her side of things.
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 02:31 PM
Aug 2021

I think a lot of people come from broken homes and don't necessarily think that cheating spouses helped them in their childhood years, and hurting children is another aspect of trying to break up marriages, not just the injured spouse. Did Monica think that Hillary was going to move out of the White House so she could move in?? It's insane.

You are right that the men especially have to be careful, though. I imagine that flashing her thong or her other provocative moves were done on other men she encountered, but of course they won't talk about it. If those that have become public do say anything, you are exactly right -- she can claim defamation of character or some such injury if they contradict her.

I guess I don't understand or accept the whole notion that Monica is a victim and needs another platform. She does more harm than good to feminine causes since the whole concept is that women are intellectual, competent equals -- so flashing your tee-tees or undies on the job to get access to higher-ups and favors used to be frowned upon.

electric_blue68

(26,856 posts)
221. third affair? I didn't pay super attention to the whole thing. I don't even remember...
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 08:08 PM
Aug 2021

hearing about the first one.

electric_blue68

(26,856 posts)
126. proposition?...
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 10:41 PM
Aug 2021

Preface: He should known better!

She flashed her thong at him first. He didn't proposition her as far as I know. He however should have told to leave at that moment. But noooooo...

I didn't remember/ didn't know she'd had a previous affair.
Shouldn't she have been vetted against - especially knowing his reputation.

The immediate villian is Linda Tripp. Maybe Ken Starr (certainly for if this Baylor scandal is true, I don't remember hearing about that...).

As Hillary... her private business. You can love somebody, and not always like what they do.
I've gotten the impression that they have some serious intellectual sympatico. That is a serious attraction on it's own.

Good that she has done this anti-bullying work.

Grokenstein

(6,356 posts)
131. I don't know about anyone else
Sat Aug 28, 2021, 10:51 PM
Aug 2021

but I've never kept clothing "stained" during sex in my closet, wrapped in plastic.

Normal or nah?

Polybius

(21,900 posts)
189. You've also probably never had sex with a President
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 01:20 PM
Aug 2021

If you do, you have to keep it, it's the only real proof.

betsuni

(29,078 posts)
141. I agree with the "serious intellectual simpatico."
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 12:30 AM
Aug 2021

Last edited Sun Aug 29, 2021, 01:25 AM - Edit history (1)

That's how I see their relationship, mutual intellectual admiration.

In that novel about a political couple based on the Clintons, "Primary Colors," the young protagonist sleeps with the Hillary character. He says something like, I can't believe I slept with a woman who uses hair spray. I hope she did have her own affairs, it's only fair!

Captain Stern

(2,253 posts)
155. Good for her.
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 07:15 AM
Aug 2021

I probably won't watch it, but I hope she receives a good chunk of money for it.

I think Hillary will be ok.

jalan48

(14,914 posts)
176. I don't think it was ever about Hillary. It was Bill and Monica making their own choices.
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 12:28 PM
Aug 2021

left-of-center2012

(34,195 posts)
183. A 49 year-old married man ...
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 12:48 PM
Aug 2021

A 49 year-old married man, arguably the most powerful man in the world, had an ongoing sexual relationship with a 22-year-old intern in his office ...

But some will want you to believe it is the 22-year-old intern who is the villain
for 'causing' the wife to ‘endure’ more suffering
by telling the intern’s side of the affair
after years of the intern being mocked and ridiculed on TV and in the press?

I thought we here on DU opposed telling women to “Sit down and shut up”?

Cuthbert Allgood

(5,339 posts)
191. The majority of the posts on the tread are gross on a liberal site.
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 01:33 PM
Aug 2021

I would think slut shaming would not frowned upon, but, hey, learn something new every day.

George II

(67,782 posts)
200. People forget that although Clinton was complicit, it was Lewinski that pursued him....
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 04:36 PM
Aug 2021

....not the other way around.

I don't understand the point of her raising this issue again.

 

wellst0nev0ter

(7,509 posts)
201. Supervisors do not engage sexual relations with underlings. Period
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 04:48 PM
Aug 2021

The power dynamic of the whole thing was completely fucked.

This is perhaps one of those things you don't want to circle the wagon around.

George II

(67,782 posts)
203. Nothing I said was addressed by you, including me saying CLINTON WAS COMPLICIT! Did you miss that?
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 05:10 PM
Aug 2021
 

wellst0nev0ter

(7,509 posts)
204. Your attempt to shift the blame was entirely noted
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 05:52 PM
Aug 2021

The facts still stand: bosses are not allowed to pursue junior employees for sexual favors due to the obvious power dynamics. I will not excuse or condone this behavior.

 

wellst0nev0ter

(7,509 posts)
206. You suggested Lewinsky shares at least half the blame for the affair
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 06:08 PM
Aug 2021

Which is a completely toxic take considering the sheer power imbalance and ethical deficiencies in that relationship.

George II

(67,782 posts)
209. In what way did I say that? You're doing it again wellst0nev0ter, saying I said something I didn't.
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 06:19 PM
Aug 2021

George II

(67,782 posts)
255. Interesting. You've made four posts in the last 28 days, all four directed toward me. Wha?
Mon Aug 30, 2021, 02:34 PM
Aug 2021
 

wellst0nev0ter

(7,509 posts)
256. You really want to know the reason?
Mon Aug 30, 2021, 05:38 PM
Aug 2021

I mean you went out of your way to look up that data and everything.

Cuthbert Allgood

(5,339 posts)
225. I'm sure there is a lot about her life and perspective you don't understand.
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 09:43 PM
Aug 2021

She was (and still is if this thread is any indication) treated horribly. I, for one, don't stand on the side of slut shaming. YMMV.

 

Azathoth

(4,677 posts)
202. The treatment of Lewinsky was horrendous
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 04:55 PM
Aug 2021

She was betrayed by her right-wing friend, exploited ruthlessly by Republicans, cut loose/smeared by Clinton and Democrats, and endlessly roasted by the media.

She's entitled to make a little money.

live love laugh

(16,383 posts)
252. How was she "exploited ruthlessly"? And "cut loose" is a reach.
Mon Aug 30, 2021, 07:30 AM
Aug 2021

What scandal exists where the exposed whore remained in relationship with the husband and wife ie. “Clintons”. As for “endlessly roasted” when? The scandal was covered as the sensation that it was and she was a key player—therefore also mentioned but “roasted”? Exaggerating won’t change reality.

SoonerPride

(12,286 posts)
233. Who cares?
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 11:07 PM
Aug 2021

No. I mean who really cares?

I don’t care what she does.
I wish her no ill will.

I just don’t care.

And I’m sure HRC doesn’t care either.

She has things to do.

Jakes Progress

(11,213 posts)
234. Guilty parties: Monica and Bill
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 11:17 PM
Aug 2021

Innocent parties: Hillary and Chelsea

Who suffers when this gets brought up again? Who profits?

Monica should shut up. She can't hold a candle to Hillary or Chelsea and needs to get a life. She doesn't even do herself any good.

My advice for her: Get a job. Pay your bills. Cure your addiction to the limelight. Just be a decent person from now on and stop playing the poor victim.

betsuni

(29,078 posts)
235. I just had a thought. Hillary-haters always called her too ambitious, conniving, weathervane,
Sun Aug 29, 2021, 11:32 PM
Aug 2021

pandering, plotting a dynasty and on and on, but I think she would've been better off without Bill. If she was that ambitious she probably would've at least gotten a separation. During her second run for president I had the feeling they were keeping Bill locked in a closet somewhere. As usual, the fictional Hillary is nothing like the real one.

Jakes Progress

(11,213 posts)
259. I doubt you will attempt to explain this stupid statement.
Thu Sep 2, 2021, 03:56 PM
Sep 2021

You know. Proof. Reality.

Kinda hard to explain yourself when you just rely on gossip and manufactured hate. Was this before or after she became a lizard overlord pedophile? That Q stuff will rot your brain.

Pitiful.

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