Monica Lewinsky continues to share her side of the story, this time with a tearful speech that addressed her affair with then-President Bill Clinton and the devastation the scandal caused to her self-esteem, People informs.
“Frankly, I came close to disintegrating. No, it’s not too strong a word. I wish it were, but it isn’t,” Lewisnky, now 41, said Monday at the Forbes Under 30 Summit in Philadelphia. “A relentless mantra in my head: I want to die.”
Recalling the public reaction that suddenly exploded all around her, Lewinsky said, “Overnight, I went from being a completely private figure, to a publicly humiliated one. I was patient zero – the first person to have their reputation completely destroyed worldwide via the Internet.”
As for her own reaction, she said, “During this period, I gradually came to realize that there were two Monica Lewinskys … There was me, and there was public Monica Lewinsky. A somewhat curious character, constructed by political factions and the media. Constructed with a little fact, and a lot of fiction. My friends didn’t know that Monica. My family didn’t know that Monica. And this Monica, the real Monica standing here today, didn’t know her either.”
