After headlining a Forbes 30 Under 30 conference, sharing one of the most-watched TED Talks, ever, and even having part of her life dramatized by Ryan Murphy, Monica Lewinsky is opening up about how she still faces bullying and judgment. In a new essay for Vanity Fair, the activist shared an anecdote about being uninvited from an event at the very last minute because a certain former president made his way onto the guest list.
Lewinsky explained that the unfortunate moment came after she’d written for the publication and was riding high from sharing her story. But as she was set to celebrate at a gala, she was quickly brought back down to earth in the worst way.
“In 2018, I was asked by Vanity Fair’s newly appointed editor, Radhika Jones, to address the #MeToo moment in an essay in which I unpacked my own thoughts about what constituted consent in a workplace relationship with a quintessential power differential,” she explained. “Shortly thereafter, I was disinvited to a philanthropy summit because former President Bill Clinton was a last-minute addition to the roster.”
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Lewinsky also wrote about her experience in the public eye, describing a situation in which a “famous diva” dismissed her, assuming that she was simply another guest’s “plus-one”—all after she’d been nominated for a National Magazine Award. As far as she’s come, Lewinsky explained, there were always moments where she felt knocked down and reminded that many people wouldn’t ever give her the respect she deserved, even though she had earned her accolades.
“Over the years, I’ve spoken confidentially to many people who have been publicly shamed and have explained that taking back one’s narrative doesn’t happen overnight and is (annoyingly) replete with plenty of setbacks,” Lewinsky wrote. “While the essay went on to be nominated for a National Magazine Award (I’m not kidding, alongside pieces by Ta-Nehisi Coates and Roger Angell—Angell won), the following month, I attended a party in L.A. and a famous diva asked me, point-blank, if I was someone’s plus-one. When I replied I had been invited, she snarked, ‘They just let everyone in tonight, didn’t they?’ (Yes, really.)”
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Describing the fallout from her TED Talk in 2015, Lewinsky said that just “minutes” after the video went live, the comments section was flooded with “vitriol, misogyny, and hatred” and was “worse than anything the TED team had experienced before.”
Reflecting on all the times she faced adversity for simply sharing her story, Lewinsky finished by saying that “we never know what lurks or enlivens around the next corner” and that she doesn’t ever lose hope that she—and other people who’ve been publicly shamed—can rise above the criticism and grow from their experiences.