Monica Lewinsky reveals what fueled her ‘bad decisions’ in DC

Monica Lewinsky is admitting what led her to make choices that helped ignite one of Washington’s biggest scandals.

More than 25 years after her relationship with then-President Bill Clinton detonated into a global firestorm, Lewinsky admitted her desire to feel “special” led her down a path of “bad decisions.”

“I think in some ways that’s part of what got me in a lot of trouble in my early 20s of looking for and wanting to be special and feeling that feeling of specialness, of validation,” she said on her podcast, “Reclaiming with Monica Lewinsky.” “And when it came, I fell into that, making bad decisions a lot of times, not just in D.C., but a lot of different ways.”

MONICA LEWINSKY BREAKS DOWN IN EMOTIONAL CONFESSION ABOUT CLINTON SCANDAL

Fox News Digital has reached out to Lewinsky for comment.

MONICA LEWINSKY SAYS BILL CLINTON ‘ESCAPED A LOT MORE THAN I DID’ AFTER WHITE HOUSE SCANDAL

A photograph showing former White House intern Monica Lewinsky meeting President Bill Clinton at a White House function was submitted as evidence in documents by the Starr investigation and released by the House Judiciary Committee on Sept. 21, 1998. (House Judiciary Committee/Getty Images)

Her comments came during an episode of the podcast “Laura Day on Reclaiming Intuition & Turning Trauma into a Superpower,” part of a broader conversation centered on the idea of crisis as a catalyst for growth.

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At just 22, Lewinsky was a White House intern when her affair with Clinton came to light in the late 1990s — a revelation that triggered impeachment proceedings against the president in December 1998 and launched Lewinsky into the spotlight overnight.

Then-President Bill Clinton answered 81 questions from the House Judiciary Committee during the impeachment inquiry the day after Thanksgiving in 1998. (Diana Walker/Contour by Getty Images)

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What followed, she said, wasn’t just political fallout — it was personal destruction.

Lewinsky recently described the frenzy as a kind of “public burning,” as late-night jokes, media saturation and relentless scrutiny reduced her identity to a punchline on a global stage.

Monica Lewinsky says wanting to feel “special” led her to make “bad decisions,” revisiting the scandal with Bill Clinton more than 25 years later. (Amy Sussman/Getty Images)

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Despite the lasting stigma attached to her name, Lewinsky said she made a conscious decision not to distance herself from it, even as it became synonymous with one of the most explosive controversies in modern political history.

In recent years, Lewinsky has reemerged in the public eye, becoming an anti-bullying advocate and public speaker. She frequently addresses the long-term consequences of public shaming, particularly in the digital age.