Monica Lewinsky Answers The One Damning Question About Bill Clinton She's Never Been Asked

Monica Lewinsky has finally weighed in on how she feels Bill Clinton should have handled his presidency after their bombshell affair. Although Lewinsky has spoken at length about her affair with the 42nd president of the United States and the personal and professional ramifications she faced, she's never given her opinion about whether Clinton  — who was impeached during his second term in December 1998 — should have stepped down as president. Despite the mark of shame placed over his legacy, Clinton completed the length of both terms, which concluded in January 2001. Meanwhile, Lewinsky, who was a college-aged intern during the scandal, suffered more wide-spread fallout.

While speaking with "Call Her Daddy" host Alex Cooper, Lewinsky, who makes a living with speaking engagements and creative endeavors that capitalize off her past scandals, revealed that she believes Clinton's punishment for his part in the affair should have been much harsher. She also praised Cooper for asking her for her opinion on the matter, stating that it's surprisingly something she's never been asked about. "I think the right way to handle a situation like that would've been to probably say it was nobody's business and to resign," said Lewinsky. "Or to find a way of staying in office that was not lying and not throwing a young person who was just starting out in the world under the bus." However, she knows it wasn't a realistic wish. "I'm hearing myself say that ... it's like, 'Okay, but we're also talking about the most powerful office in the world, you know? So, I don't want to be naïve either."

This is far from the first time she's criticized Clinton's actions after the affair.

Monica Lewinsky believes Bill Clinton and his administration scapegoated her to protect his legacy. "Sure, my boss took advantage of me, but I will always remain firm on this point: it was a consensual relationship," she wrote in an essay for Vanity Fair in 2014. "Any 'abuse' came in the aftermath, when I was made a scapegoat in order to protect his powerful position. ... The Clinton administration, the special prosecutor's minions, the political operatives on both sides of the aisle, and the media were able to brand me. And that brand stuck, in part because it was imbued with power."

A divisive public figure, Lewinsky's story has always inspired strong opinions from those who both sympathize with and demonize her for her past. Unsurprisingly, her "Call Her Daddy" interview has ignited a wave of conflicting sentiments. Underneath an Instagram clip from the interview, one user lavished Lewinsky with praise. "Monica deserved better," they wrote. "I'm so proud that she has been able to overcome that unfortunate situation. The world is now aware of how truly regrettable what was done to her was." A second user condemned Clinton with their comment. "[Monica Lewinsky] was 22 and Clinton was 51. He was in a position of power and she was a subordinate, yet he was admired, and she was vilified. I can't imagine what she went through, but I admire her strength," they wrote.

However, some users on X, formerly known as Twitter, weren't nearly as moved by Lewinsky's tragic truth. One user, for example, tweeted, "Listen. She needs to just sit down. She was a grown woman. What she did was not acceptable either."