Monica Lewinsky's Back in the Media
Many know the name Monica Lewinsky. Over 16 years ago in 1998, the details of her affair with President Bill Clinton became public knowledge and she has since then lived in the public eye. Her name has even been mentioned in rap lyrics by Beyonce, Eminem, Nicki Minaj and Lil Wayne among others. At the Forbes Under 30 Summit in Philadelphia this week, Lewinsky attended to guest speak about cyber bullying and its effects on her life after the affair.
The Huffington Post describes the outcome of her speech best, “Many not only missed the point, but in a cruel twist of irony used the story to engage in the very acts she spoke against by shamefully renewing their pointlessly vitriolic commentary against the former White House intern.”
Here’s Lewinsky’s speech.
During her speech, Lewinsky advocated for those who have been bullied and humiliated on the internet and vowed to continue to speak out for those individuals. She said in an essay published in Vanity Fair this summer, “I’ve decided, finally, to stick my head above the parapet so that I can take back my narrative and give a purpose to my past.”
The Huffington Post article tries to prove a point, “Like the drug addict who nobly turns his or her life around and becomes a rehab counselor, Lewinsky has expressed regret and accepted responsibility for some poor decisions from her youth and turned them into something positive. It’s too bad, then, that on her first day on the job, so many of us felt inclined to try to silence, demean, humiliate and shut her down through the very same tactics that inspired her to speak up in the first place.”
Should Monica Lewinsky be back in the spotlight speaking about her experience? Many people online argue that she shouldn’t.
Why not let someone like Monica Lewinsky, who’s experienced cyber bullying first-hand, speak up for the overwhelming number of others who have been bullied in a similar way? She has something to say and it’s worth hearing.
To read the full Huffington post article, click here.