Monica Lewinsky, the woman at the heart of one of America’s most infamous political scandals, has dropped a bombshell more than 25 years after her affair with former President Bill Clinton rocked the nation.
In a revealing interview on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast, released on February 25, 2025, Lewinsky, now 51, said she believes Clinton should have resigned from the Oval Office as Congress moved to impeach him for lying about their relationship.
“I think that the right way to handle a situation like that would’ve been to probably say it was nobody’s business and to resign,” she told host Alex Cooper.
Her words mark a striking shift, offering a fresh perspective on a saga that led to Clinton’s 1998 impeachment and left an indelible mark on her life.
Lewinsky’s comments come decades after she was thrust into the spotlight as a 22-year-old White House intern, caught in a web of power, betrayal, and public shaming.
She suggested Clinton could have stayed in office by being truthful, avoiding the lies that not only jeopardized his presidency but also “threw a young person who is just starting out in the world under the bus.”
This isn’t just a reflection—it’s a reckoning.
As the scandal’s echoes still reverberate in political and cultural conversations, Lewinsky’s take is reigniting debates about accountability, power dynamics, and what might have been.
Here’s the full story, from the torrid affair to its lasting fallout, and why her voice matters now more than ever.
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The Scandal That Shook Washington
To understand Lewinsky’s stance, we need to rewind to the mid-1990s.
Between 1995 and 1997, Lewinsky interned at the White House, a prestigious gig for any young professional.
But what started as a career opportunity spiraled into a clandestine affair with Clinton, then 49 and in his second term as president.
Their relationship, which took place in the Oval Office, might have remained a private indiscretion—if not for a twist of legal fate.
In 1994, Paula Jones, a former Arkansas state employee, filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Clinton, alleging he propositioned her and exposed himself in a Little Rock hotel room in 1991, when he was governor.
The case dragged on, and by 1998, independent counsel Ken Starr was digging into Clinton’s personal conduct as part of the investigation.
That’s when Starr uncovered evidence of the Lewinsky affair—evidence Clinton denied under oath before a federal grand jury.
The lie unraveled everything.
Starr’s report to the House Judiciary Committee confirmed the sexual relationship, complete with graphic details that dominated headlines.
Clinton’s perjury—lying about the affair under oath—and his efforts to obscure the truth became grounds for impeachment.
On December 19, 1998, the House voted to impeach him on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice.
But the Senate, in a dramatic February 1999 trial, acquitted him by a vote of 55-45 on perjury and 50-50 on obstruction, falling short of the two-thirds majority needed to remove him from office.
Clinton stayed put, finishing his term in January 2001.
Monica Lewinsky’s New Take: Resignation or Truth
Fast forward to 2025. Lewinsky, now an anti-bullying advocate and public speaker, sat down with Alex Cooper for a raw, unfiltered conversation.
Her statement that Clinton should have resigned isn’t just a casual opinion—it’s a first.
“I’ve never been asked that question,” she admitted, signaling this isn’t a rehearsed talking point but a deeply considered view shaped by decades of reflection.
“I think that the right way to handle a situation like that would’ve been to probably say it was nobody’s business and to resign,” she said.
“Or to find a way to stay in office that was not lying and not throwing a young person who is just starting out in the world under the bus.”
Her words carry weight, blending personal experience with a critique of how power was wielded against her.
At 22, she was a junior staffer, while Clinton held the most powerful office in the world—a disparity she now sees with piercing clarity.
But Lewinsky isn’t blind to the stakes.
“At the same time I hear myself say that and it’s like, ‘OK, but we’re also talking about the most powerful office in the world,’” she added.
“I don’t want to be naive either.”
It’s a tightrope walk: advocating for accountability while recognizing the chaos a resignation might have unleashed.
Imagine the headlines in 1998—“President Quits Over Intern Affair”—and the political vacuum that could have followed.
Vice President Al Gore would have stepped in, reshaping the late ’90s and potentially the 2000 election.
Yet Lewinsky’s point isn’t about logistics—it’s about principle.
Clinton’s Defiance: “I Knew It Wouldn’t Succeed”
Clinton saw it differently.
In a May 2018 interview with CBS News, he dismissed any thought of stepping down. “Well, I knew it wouldn’t succeed,” he said of the impeachment effort.
“It wasn’t a pleasant experience. But it was a fight that I was glad to undertake after the elections, when the people had solidly told, by two-thirds or more, the Republicans to stop it.
They knew there was nothing impeachable. And so, we fought it to the end. And I’m glad.”
Public opinion backed him up. Polls from late 1998 showed approval ratings hovering above 60%, even as the scandal unfolded.
Many Americans saw the impeachment as partisan overreach by Republicans, who’d seized on Starr’s findings to target a popular president.
Clinton leaned on that support, framing the ordeal as a political attack rather than a personal failing.
And when the Senate acquitted him, he emerged battered but unbowed.
Years later, he offered a mea culpa—sort of.
In a 2004 CBS interview, Clinton reflected on why he’d strayed.
“I did something for the worst possible reason—just because I could,” he said.
“I think that’s just about the most morally indefensible reason anybody could have for doing something—when you do it because you could. And I thought about it a lot, and there are a lot of more sophisticated explanations, more complicated psychological explanations, but none of them are an excuse. Only a fool does not look to explain his mistakes.”
It’s a rare admission of guilt, though it sidesteps the question of resignation.
The Cost to Lewinsky: A Lost Future
While Clinton weathered the storm, Lewinsky’s life imploded.
“I was in my early 30s, I had nothing,” she told Cooper.
“That was the point when I realized how much had been taken from me. I lost my future.”
At 22, she’d been a bright-eyed intern with dreams of a career in public service.
By her late 20s, she was a pariah, her name synonymous with scandal.
The media frenzy—tabloids splashing her face across covers, late-night comics turning her into a punchline—left scars that lingered for decades.
Yet she’s proud of one thing: “I held onto my true self.” That resilience shines through in her post-scandal journey.
Since the early 2000s, Lewinsky has rebuilt her life, earning a master’s degree in social psychology from the London School of Economics and becoming a voice against cyberbullying.
Her 2015 TED Talk, “The Price of Shame,” has over 20 million views, cementing her as a figure of redemption. Still, the apologies she craved were slow to come.
“I’ve had a handful of people who were involved at the time that I’ve run into in different ways who acknowledge that they have made different choices,” she said on the podcast.
“None of the people who were above the fold names involved in the investigation. I’m grateful that I’m at a place where I don’t need it anymore.”
These quiet regrets—from aides or minor players, not Starr or Clinton—hint at a shifting tide, a recognition of the human cost she bore alone.
Power, Lies, and What Might Have Been
Lewinsky’s call for resignation isn’t just about her—it’s a lens on power dynamics that resonate today.
She was 22, a subordinate in every sense, while Clinton was the commander-in-chief.
His lies didn’t just protect his presidency; they torched her future.
“Not throwing a young person under the bus” isn’t a throwaway line—it’s a plea for leaders to consider who pays the price when they dodge accountability.
Compare this to Watergate, where Richard Nixon resigned in 1974 amid impeachment proceedings over a break-in and cover-up.
Nixon’s exit was a rare case of a president stepping down under pressure—something Clinton never contemplated.
If he had, history might look different.
Gore could have run as an incumbent in 2000, possibly altering the razor-thin Bush v. Gore outcome.
The Republican push for impeachment might have fizzled without a defiant Clinton to rally against.
And Lewinsky? She might have faded from the spotlight sooner, spared years of public humiliation.
Her suggestion of honesty as an alternative—“find a way to stay in office that was not lying”—is equally tantalizing.
What if Clinton had owned up to the affair in 1998, framing it as a personal failing rather than a legal battle? Could he have weathered the fallout with candor instead of denial? It’s a hypothetical that invites endless debate, but Lewinsky’s hindsight offers a roadmap: truth might have saved more than just his legacy.
Why This Matters in 2025
Lewinsky’s interview isn’t just a history lesson—it’s a cultural moment.
In the #MeToo era, her story hits differently.
The power imbalance between a president and an intern, once shrugged off as a “consensual affair,” now sparks outrage.
Her advocacy against bullying ties directly to the online vitriol she endured, a precursor to today’s social media pile-ons.
And with political scandals still grabbing headlines—think recent congressional ethics probes—her call for accountability feels timely.
A Voice Reclaimed
Monica Lewinsky’s belief that Bill Clinton should have resigned isn’t about rewriting the past—it’s about reclaiming her narrative.
For years, she was a footnote in his story, a punchline in a political circus.
Now, at 51, she’s flipping the script, asking what justice looks like when power protects itself at the expense of the powerless.
Clinton fought to stay and won. Lewinsky lost everything—then built it back.
Her words on “Call Her Daddy” aren’t a vendetta; they’re a reflection from a woman who’s survived the unthinkable.
Whether you agree or not, one thing’s clear: Monica Lewinsky isn’t done shaping how we see that scandal—or ourselves.
As she put it, “I’m grateful that I’m at a place where I don’t need it anymore.” Maybe now, the world’s ready to listen.
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