Monica Lewinsky Says Bill Clinton ‘Should Want to Apologize’ – Though She’s Never Received One
It’s been more than 20 years since Monica Lewinsky’s affair with former U.S. President Bill Clinton became public knowledge. The infamous scandal turned Lewinsky’s life upside down, with her retreating away from the spotlight due to the immense scrutiny and belittling she faced from the media. Though she went through a lot due to this scandal, Lewinsky never received a personal apology from Clinton. But in a recent interview, Lewinsky shared that she never looked for one.
Monica Lewinsky is past the point of needing an apology from Bill Clinton
Monica Lewinsky has gone nearly three decades without receiving a personal apology from Bill Clinton. Seeing as her relationship with the former President caused her to be at the forefront of a scandal that rocked the nation to its core, many feel that Lewinsky is deserving of a sincere apology from Clinton.
While recently appearing on the Today show to promote her new FX limited series Impeachment: American Crime Story, for which she served as executive producer, Lewinsky was asked whether she feels Clinton should apologize.
Though she wanted Clinton to admit his wrongs to her a few years back, Lewinsky shared that she no longer seeks acknowledgment from the former President.
“I think there was a long period before my life changed in the last six or seven years where I felt a lot in terms of there not being this resolution,” she said. “I’m very grateful that I don’t have that feeling anymore.”
Lewinsky added, “And I don’t need it. He should want to apologize, in the same way that I want to apologize any chance I get to people that I’ve hurt and my actions have hurt.”
Bill Clinton never felt like he owed his former lover a personal apology
In 2018, former President Bill Clinton was asked if he had apologized to Monica Lewinsky following their infamous affair.
After admitting that he felt terrible about the situation and how he handled it, Clinton confessed that he never said sorry directly to Lewinsky.
“I apologized to everybody in the world,” he said while appearing on the Today show. “No, I do, I, I, I do not. I’ve never talked to her. But I did say, publicly, on more than one occasion, that I was sorry. That’s very different. The apology was public.”
Looking back on the scandal, Clinton said he would have done a lot of things differently, especially if this situation occurred today.
“A lot of the facts have been conveniently omitted to make the story work. I think partly because they’re frustrated that they got all these serious allegations against the current occupant of the Oval Office and his voters don’t seem to care,” he said. “I think I did the right thing. I defended the Constitution.”
Monica Lewinsky now knows that Bill Clinton didn’t care for her as much as she thought
Rather than wanting an apology from Bill Clinton, Monica Lewinsky recently told People that she longed to receive some type of closure from him. Now that she’s had time to process the affair and all that occurred after the scandal came to light, Lewinsky says that’s no longer a desire of hers.
“If I had been asked five years ago, there would have been a part of me that needed something — that still wanted something,” she said. “Not any kind of relationship, but a sense of closure or maybe understanding and I feel incredibly grateful not to need any of that.”
Though she thought Clinton cared for her, Lewinsky realized in recent years that his feelings for her weren’t as strong as she thought they were.
“I can’t speak to how he really felt or if what he has said over the years is true to him,” Lewinsky continued. “At 22 years old, I mistakenly thought the sliver of him that I got to know was the whole of who he was. And with that, I thought I mattered more than I did.”
She added, “That’s not to say this was transactional. But he clearly didn’t care in the way I thought he did at the time and the way some of his gestures would have conveyed.”
