Monica Lewinsky's Emotional Confession About Bill Clinton Scandal Is So Heartbreaking

Monica Lewinsky has shown some telltale signs that her affair with Bill Clinton was more traumatic than she let on. However, the difficulty she dealt with was never more apparent than when she broke down in tears while remembering her experience during an October 2025 event. Lewinsky joined Amanda Knox at a screening of "The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox" — a true crime drama based on the latter's court case — and told the audience that the project aimed "to show yet again what happens when young women are thrust onto the world stage and feasted on by the media," per the Daily Mail. 

The activist and podcaster then got emotional as she spoke about the miniseries' finale episode, which focused on the aftermath of Knox's eight-year legal battle before being acquitted of the 2007 murder of her roommate in Italy. While speaking about Knox's struggles, a tearful Lewinsky hinted that she endured similar tragic moments in her life after her scandal with Clinton. "I think some of what really moved me in the finale was ... showing the aftermath, because it's very hard for people to understand that this happens, not just to a person, but to a family," Lewinsky said in footage published by the outlet. "And the consequences can be very far-reaching. And it's really — as hard as the trauma can be to survive, surviving the aftermath is sometimes harder."

Monica Lewinsky wasn't exaggerating when she said that the aftermath could sometimes be even more difficult than the incident itself. She and her loved ones were plagued with physical, mental, and financial struggles after her relationship with Bill Clinton came to light and made her a household name. While he emerged relatively unscathed from the saga and even served his second term in office in full, the ex-White House intern and her family faced harassment from the media, threats of jail time from officials, and legal bills of over $1 million related to the investigation into the Clinton affair. After essentially becoming a pariah at 25, no one would hire Lewinsky, and she had to sell her story to be able to pay her enormous legal fees.

Throughout this, Lewinsky battled her own demons. She admitted in a 2014 Vanity Fair essay (via CNN) that she had "strong suicidal temptations several times during the investigation and one or two periods after." The mental toll of being a "publicly outed and ostracized" in the aftermath of the scandal ultimately led to her being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, according to a 2018 piece for the magazine (via The Guardian). However, Lewinsky didn't let it ruin her life. She's since become a symbol of resilience and strength and used her platform to help others suffering from cyberbullying and online harassment.